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Darthaerith t1_j9xw986 wrote

A lot of people are missing the salient point here.

In shooting it down over shallow water and recovering it, the US military will analyze what they were looking for. Discover weaknesses in their own networks and look for solutions to upgrade their information security.

It also gives them an idea of what a near peer adversary was looking for specifically.

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Slggyqo t1_j9y8lzv wrote

And come up with a better weapon for shooting down balloons.

I don’t think anyone believe that an infrared missile is the best possible option for shooting down a spy balloon, it’s just the best one that we have.

Hell, an airplane with a stall speed of over 200 knots really isn’t a great tool for taking out a slow moving balloon.

NASA has flown propeller drones at that altitude, maybe something like that …

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SelfLord t1_j9yo37y wrote

I feel you, but you're upset about money that has already been spent. The problem starts way before the missile is fired.

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Darthaerith t1_j9y9mgp wrote

That's an interesting point. I wonder if the laser technology they're experimenting with for ship defense against missiles would have an application here.

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worst_user_name_ever t1_j9ymafd wrote

It might be that we have space lasers that could assassinate a person from a satellite in space. Might be bullshit. But we don't want to show our weaponry on a balloon where we aren't even sure it's not Jim Bob Michigander doing a science experiment.

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bearsnchairs t1_j9z5414 wrote

Different ballon. That one was shot down over the Atlantic by an F22. This is one of the smaller objects in the following days that was shot down over Lake Huron.

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kooby95 t1_j9y4dx4 wrote

Yeah, that balloon was most likely a hobbyist balloon so…

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hello_hellno t1_j9ybnxr wrote

What.... news sources have you been following? And what hobbyist flies 3 bus wide balloons over the ocean and military sites in another country? Just.... what?

Wtf could ever suggest to you this was some "hobbyist"?

This is such a mind-blowing comment on so many levels.

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BluePadlock t1_j9ydubz wrote

Read the post… this is about the balloon taken down over Lake Huron, not the Chinese spy balloon taken down off the Carolina coast.

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hello_hellno t1_ja1ysae wrote

Thanks for the correction- I was Def thinking of the wrong incident but point still stands that there is nothing suggesting it was a hobbyist balloon. The military doesn't shoot down things without clear indication it needs to be taken down

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kooby95 t1_j9yeoq5 wrote

You’re thinking of the wrong balloon, calm down.

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hello_hellno t1_ja1yn9a wrote

It's been pointed out a few times I sounded harsh in my original comment- wasn't my intention or even my mindset. Just wanted to correct misinformation which I still think your comment encourages until you provide some credible source that backs it. But I apologize if I sounded harsh and appreciate getting it pointed out so I can be more careful when replying. Again, if you got any source on it being a"hobbyist" balloon I'd love to read into it, and I did not mean to come off demeaning or rude.

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torchma t1_j9yvpcq wrote

How about you get informed yourself before throwing a fit about someone's (reasonable) comment? Holy shit.

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hello_hellno t1_ja1xqyx wrote

Inform myself,with both you and op's super sources? Not throwing a fit, but a ridiculous take is a ridiculous take and allowing blind misinformation to just be is detrimental to everyone. Now if you got something to suggest comment is correct, more than willing to read into it but what we know is that 1) China c knowledge it was theirs 2) they were mad US shot it down 3) several others have been found 4) they were specifically flying over military sites 5) the US felt it enough of a threat to shoot it down

What a i missing? Seriously, if you got any legit source that still claims it's a hobbyist balloon I'd love to read into it. Otherwise just spewing what you think is harmful. There's no "alternative facts" in the real-world.

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