The new balloon-buster miniguns will cost $45 million each and will have sustained fire of 5400 rounds per minute. Enough for a whole fleet of balloons!
I wish I had kept my Dad's 30-30, I could have helped deal with this menace from my front porch right here in Tennessee. I could probably enlist my neighbors!!! Gun fire in Tennessee the next best thing to a morning cup of coffee.
usaf may indeed have an aim 9 version that can kill something!
legacy aim 9 were heat seekers the latest put on f-22 has a radar homing capability, iaw wiki.
the big news is whatever 'seeker' got the missile close enough for a kill, interesting considering the radar cross section is balloon, solar panels and antenna array (if you believe the state depyt, who know nothing abiut arrays).
in the north carolina air battle the aim 9 was backed up by the guns on a couple of massachusetts air guard f-15's ......
Bill, you opinion of the f-22 to aim 9 integration is much higher than mine, although I admit no direct knowledge, if I ever worked on f-22 I could not comment.
According to the latest NYT update (Friday evening, 2/10), the military hasn't confirmed whether the object was a balloon, and doesn't know its provenance.
And yet, dozens of commenters automatically assumed it was Chinese, that it was indeed a balloon, and that it was dangerous to the U.S. There were lots of attaboys and gratitude to Biden for keeping the country safe.
And there was quite a bit of rabid hysteria about the Chinese menace.
I was glad to see that a few wise souls spoke up and said, "What? You don't think everybody spies on everybody else, especially the U.S.?
Get a grip!"
The media in general are to blame for keeping hysteria frothing all the time, just for the purpose of driving up ratings. It's a damn shame that's what we've come down to.
Could not agree with You more, Bill, that this is ALL about domestic politics. But these days, with but 633 days to Election2024, just about EVERYTHING is all about domestic politics, isn’t it?
In any event, i have some questions and an observation about that “unidentified object” ~ as opposed to an “unidentified FLYING object”? ~ Top Gunned over Alaska…:
~ 1. To repeat the same questions asked about the Chinese Balloon: Does not the United States have the scientific knowhow and the technological capability to have intercepted it, brought it under mechanical control [if nothing else, a gigantic net], and returned it to Earth in one piece for examination and analysis? As opposed to shooting it down and no doubt totally destroying anything that was onboard that could be examined and analyzed once retrieved?
~ 2. Is there any linkage between these two events in American airspace, and the dramatic uptick in reports of UFOs by the Pentagon’s new office for investigating potential UFO sightings, the “All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office”? [ https://www.npr.org/2023/01/13/1149019140/ufo-report ]
~ 3. Given that nobody has claimed responsibility for that UO, has anybody considered the possibility that the United States put that thing where it was and when it was there?
And my observation is: Having lived in Sitka, Alaska on the sailboat i brought up from San Francisco Bay ten years ago last summer, this is an excellent time to repeat what i have been saying to Alaskans for several years now… . At some point in the not-too-distant future, we Alaskans will find ourselves on the Front Line of another Phase of Cold War III: Military and thus Economic Control of the Arctic Ocean.
Or, as Jose Nino put it: “Don’t you think it’s ironic that as soon as we’re out of one twenty year conflict, now our government is immediately looking for the next one?”
On the validation side [it's America-we're conditioned to deficiency, so we all need something now and again] I was smarter than a US Senator from Alaska this evening-I knew equivocable wasn't a word. I might have been smarter than LesHolt as well, but using them as models for intelligence and ability is probably my biggest error of the day.
Even as we speak the Pentagon is writing up specs for balloon-piercing ammo, which is expected to be manufactured in seven months at $1200 per round.
And that's before the inevitable delays and cost overruns.
The new balloon-buster miniguns will cost $45 million each and will have sustained fire of 5400 rounds per minute. Enough for a whole fleet of balloons!
I wish I had kept my Dad's 30-30, I could have helped deal with this menace from my front porch right here in Tennessee. I could probably enlist my neighbors!!! Gun fire in Tennessee the next best thing to a morning cup of coffee.
usaf may indeed have an aim 9 version that can kill something!
legacy aim 9 were heat seekers the latest put on f-22 has a radar homing capability, iaw wiki.
the big news is whatever 'seeker' got the missile close enough for a kill, interesting considering the radar cross section is balloon, solar panels and antenna array (if you believe the state depyt, who know nothing abiut arrays).
in the north carolina air battle the aim 9 was backed up by the guns on a couple of massachusetts air guard f-15's ......
the afotec guys who tested aim 9 are happy!!!
Geez, if we can't hit a big balloon floating in the sky, what can we hit? It's like bragging about hitting the broadside of a barn -- with a shotgun.
Bill, you opinion of the f-22 to aim 9 integration is much higher than mine, although I admit no direct knowledge, if I ever worked on f-22 I could not comment.
At FAIR, an article that notes how the Chinese balloon obsession is a boon for China hawks in the U.S. government:
https://fair.org/home/media-spy-balloon-obsession-a-gift-to-china-hawks/
They're getting trigger-happy on Capitol Hill.
Yeee-Haw! Got another one!
According to the latest NYT update (Friday evening, 2/10), the military hasn't confirmed whether the object was a balloon, and doesn't know its provenance.
And yet, dozens of commenters automatically assumed it was Chinese, that it was indeed a balloon, and that it was dangerous to the U.S. There were lots of attaboys and gratitude to Biden for keeping the country safe.
And there was quite a bit of rabid hysteria about the Chinese menace.
I was glad to see that a few wise souls spoke up and said, "What? You don't think everybody spies on everybody else, especially the U.S.?
Get a grip!"
The media in general are to blame for keeping hysteria frothing all the time, just for the purpose of driving up ratings. It's a damn shame that's what we've come down to.
https://babylonbee.com/news/us-retaliates-for-chinese-spy-balloon-by-releasing-spy-inflatable-flailing-arm-tube-man
I think the media is manufacturing consent for a hot war with China.
Could be. I hope not. Extremely stupid.
Could not agree with You more, Bill, that this is ALL about domestic politics. But these days, with but 633 days to Election2024, just about EVERYTHING is all about domestic politics, isn’t it?
In any event, i have some questions and an observation about that “unidentified object” ~ as opposed to an “unidentified FLYING object”? ~ Top Gunned over Alaska…:
~ 1. To repeat the same questions asked about the Chinese Balloon: Does not the United States have the scientific knowhow and the technological capability to have intercepted it, brought it under mechanical control [if nothing else, a gigantic net], and returned it to Earth in one piece for examination and analysis? As opposed to shooting it down and no doubt totally destroying anything that was onboard that could be examined and analyzed once retrieved?
~ 2. Is there any linkage between these two events in American airspace, and the dramatic uptick in reports of UFOs by the Pentagon’s new office for investigating potential UFO sightings, the “All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office”? [ https://www.npr.org/2023/01/13/1149019140/ufo-report ]
~ 3. Given that nobody has claimed responsibility for that UO, has anybody considered the possibility that the United States put that thing where it was and when it was there?
And my observation is: Having lived in Sitka, Alaska on the sailboat i brought up from San Francisco Bay ten years ago last summer, this is an excellent time to repeat what i have been saying to Alaskans for several years now… . At some point in the not-too-distant future, we Alaskans will find ourselves on the Front Line of another Phase of Cold War III: Military and thus Economic Control of the Arctic Ocean.
One thing is certain, Jeff: It's not a good time to take up hot air ballooning as a hobby. :-)
Heh. Evidently not.
~ 4. Isn’t it interesting that the China Balloon and now the UO happened shortly after a U.S. Air Force 4-star General released a memo predicting that the U.S. will be at war with China by 2025? [ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-air-force-general-predicts-war-china-2025-memo-rcna67967 ]
Or, as Jose Nino put it: “Don’t you think it’s ironic that as soon as we’re out of one twenty year conflict, now our government is immediately looking for the next one?”
[ https://josbcf.substack.com/p/manifesting-a-war-where-no-one-wins ]
JimmyDore presented much the same perception yesterday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iKNL6Gz7vE
On the validation side [it's America-we're conditioned to deficiency, so we all need something now and again] I was smarter than a US Senator from Alaska this evening-I knew equivocable wasn't a word. I might have been smarter than LesHolt as well, but using them as models for intelligence and ability is probably my biggest error of the day.