What if?…🎈Across the Great Plains, from northern Colorado and throughout Wyoming, North Dakota, and Montana, are the missile fields of the United States nuclear program. Each of the three Strategic Missile Wings at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
(plainshumanities.unl.edu)
🤔💭 Theory 😲💡
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I’d be more willing to buy into Gregg’s suggestion if the administration takes action and shoots it down - otherwise they just look more inept with every passing day that it floats above the US.
You make a great point. It has definitely captivated the attention of a lot of people, already. Do you think there is an end game or does it just float off into the Atlantic in a week or so?
I've come to the conclusion that the reason they are saying they will not shoot it down is to save face from the fact that they can't shoot it down.
First of all, if the balloon is at an altitude of 80,000 feet or higher, we have no aircraft that can operate at that altitude. And, even if we did, it would be problematic to shoot a nearly-stationary target with cannon fire at a closing velocity of hundreds of knots---and proximity fuzes may not activate against a balloon. Engagement with infrared homing and radar homing missiles may be ineffective because the balloon may not have a significant signature. This would also be a problem for any surface-to-air missiles. A balloon is probably not in the velocity-altitude filter for the radar detection and tracking system. Trying to snag it with a wingtip is dangerous as hell. (If we had airborne lasers it might be a different story, but no can do.)
Yes, the YAL-1A would have been perfect. It is gone, scrapped, thanks to the Obama administration. But it lacked the surveillance system that would have been needed. The mission testing was cued by the ground control and the laser used its tracker to acquire the target. (I did preliminary system studies in the late 1970s, edited the final proposal in the 1990s, and conducted mission analysis in the 2010s.) We're starting all over again with a different laser technology and at lower power levels.
What if there is a risk it's filled with bio-weapon?
Exactly my thought
I’m concerned about this, too.
What if there's a risk that it will release a bio-weapon? Do we just stand by and gape? What if there's a risk that it contains a nuclear device? There are good reasons for interdicting such things before they get to us...such as preventing these risks.
Maybe we could find someone to design a death ray we could use against it?
Monkey werx says it's at 19-20k ft and they are concerned about what's inside.
Wow. That's pretty low. It must be sinking. There may not be much "inside." The photos show a dangling structure that appears to have solar power panels and equipment boxes.