tshile Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 1 hour ago, China said: Barrage? How many bullets does it take to pop a balloon? It’s 6-12 feet wide and you’re flying fast and it’s moving slow. I think sidewinders are proximity based so you just need to get close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wiggles Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Pfft just hire some old air show biplane pilot n some wing walkers to go up there and pop the balloons with like a dart or harpoon gun. Or contract some parachutists to drop a big weighted net onto these things n force em back down to the surface. You're telling me we don't have anybody on the payroll over there at the Pentagon that can come up with a better idea than..... "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh we could shoot it down with a missile"? 🙅 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 1 hour ago, tshile said: It’s 6-12 feet wide and you’re flying fast and it’s moving slow. I think sidewinders are proximity based so you just need to get close. I'm trying to follow this logic, so they have guns so they can hit faster moving targets like other jets, but can't hit something moving slow like a moving target on the ground they would strafe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyJ Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, China said: Right, because missiles never come down, including the one they shot that missed. Don't missiles have self-destructs built into them? I have no idea, just spitballing because it would seem dangerous to launch a rocket over a country with no plans on what to do if it misses, low population or not. Edited February 18, 2023 by NickyJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Just now, NickyJ said: Don't missiles have self-destructs built into them? I have no idea, just spitballing because it would seem dangerous to launch a rocket with plans on what to do if it misses. The reporting I read said that the missile fell "harmlessly" into one of the Great Lakes. I would assume bullets could do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 4 hours ago, China said: I'm trying to follow this logic, so they have guns so they can hit faster moving targets like other jets, but can't hit something moving slow like a moving target on the ground they would strafe? They have guns so that they can fire 1,000 bullets, and 3-4 of them will hit a target that's 60 feet across, that's 1,000 feet away or so, that's moving almost the same speed and direction that you are. Change the target to something that's 10 feet across, and moving past you at 600 MPH. Not saying it's impossible. I'm certain the guys in those suits know a lot more about it than I do. Just saying I'm not willing to sit at my keyboard and say it's obvious that anybody could do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 6 hours ago, China said: I'm trying to follow this logic, so they have guns so they can hit faster moving targets like other jets, but can't hit something moving slow like a moving target on the ground they would strafe? Idk I’m the one that asked if anyone else was surprised we didn’t have a better option other than to shoot it and got yelled at I’m guessing they chose the sidewinder and not the canon because it gave them the best chance to hit it. im sure they didn’t rock paper scissors it 🤷♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinsCowgirl84 Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, tshile said: im sure they didn’t rock paper scissors it 🤷♂️ Really? Anyway, I’m surprised that day two into this debate no one has bothered to google it…. https://news.yahoo.com/why-u-used-missiles-not-125447249.html The military and Biden administration got some blowback for using $400,000 Sidewinders to take down four balloons, three of which are likely "benign" objects. But "the military's ability to respond to balloons and similar craft is constrained by physics and the capabilities of current weapons," The Washington Post reports, and you can't really pop a giant balloon with gunfire at 40,000 feet. "You can fill a balloon full of bullet holes, and it's going to stay at altitude," David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and fighter pilot, tells the Post. The air pressure that high up doesn't allow helium to freely escape through small holes, even if fighter jets flying by at hundreds of miles per hour can riddle the near-stationary balloon with bullets. Canada figured that out the hard way in 1998, when it tried to bring down a giant runaway weather balloon launched from Saskatchewan to measure ozone levels, CBC News recalled right after the Chinese spy balloon incident. "Canadian CF-18 fighter jet pilots caught up with the balloon off the coast of Newfoundland and took aim, firing more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition at it. But the balloon survived the assault, soldiering on over the North Atlantic," floating above British, Norwegian, and Russian airspace before finally crashing in Finland. clearly we need to budget a billion dollars into paying our defense contractors to develope more cost effective ways of downing balloons… also #firstworldproblems Edited February 18, 2023 by CousinsCowgirl84 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBuzz Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Dunning kruger effect getting a heavy workout in this thread. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 15 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said: Dunning kruger effect getting a heavy workout in this thread. You new to the internet? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Pilots Advised Of Large White High-Altitude Balloon East Of Hawaii (Updated) According to multiple reports, the FAA notified pilots of a sighting of a large white balloon at between 40,000 and 50,000 feet roughly 600 miles east of the Hawaiian Islands. Subsequent ACARS (Aircraft Communications, Addressing and Reporting System) messages show aircraft in the area — which is normally quite busy as it sits on the route from the U.S. west coast to Hawaii — acknowledging the alert, which includes a request to report back if they spot any such object. It's unclear when the initial report of the balloon was made to FAA, but alerts about it appear to have been going out to pilots since at least 7:46 A.M. local time in Hawaii, or nearly 10 hours ago. The War Zone has reached out to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) to see if they are tracking the object or have scrambled fighter aircraft to inspect it. We have also reached out to the FAA to authenticate that there was indeed a balloon spotted as the ACARS messages to pilots refer to and to get more on the status of the balloon if that is indeed the case. We will let you know what we hear as soon as we get a response. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinsCowgirl84 Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Ready the missiles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot showing the Chinese spy balloon in air Click on the link for the full article 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyJ Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) The camera score so far according to the experts in this thread: $200-$400 cell phone: 1 $200+ million piece of state of the art technology: 0 Maybe the military should invest in mounting cell phones on their planes to take pretty pictures. Edited February 23, 2023 by NickyJ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 No texting while driving damnit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCSaints_fan Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I suppose the most cost effective way to take out the high altitude balloons is probably another balloon with offensive weaponry. Smaller, purpose built missiles might be best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinsCowgirl84 Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 Laser. Why isn’t anyone taking about lasers… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wiggles Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 13 minutes ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said: Laser. Why isn’t anyone taking about lasers… That you Drax? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 Or…. we stop shooting random balloons down 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wiggles Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 17 minutes ago, tshile said: Or…. we stop shooting random balloons down Not shooting them down isn't much fun. Our playstation trained pilots deserve to see some live combat action dammit. 🤪 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinsCowgirl84 Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 1 hour ago, tshile said: Or…. we stop shooting random balloons down Lasers 🙅♀️ 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabbyrwock Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 2 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said: Laser. Why isn’t anyone taking about lasers… Lasers are the easy part...its teaching the sharks to aim thats hard. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 8 hours ago, DCSaints_fan said: I suppose the most cost effective way to take out the high altitude balloons is probably another balloon with offensive weaponry. Smaller, purpose built missiles might be best. A Good Balloon with a gun? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 4 hours ago, Captain Wiggles said: Not shooting them down isn't much fun. Our playstation trained pilots deserve to see some live combat action dammit Hey man I’m all for that it’s the bull**** overhead that comes with it that’s obnoxious imagine like 3 weeks ago we all decided as one “we’re gonna start shooting down balloons whenever we find one” im all for that. That sounds fun and very America **** yeah-ish. I’d love to see a presidential debate about how many balloons one guy show down, vs how many more the other guy would shoot down. That’s not what we got though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 I thought that's what the Jewish space lasers were for? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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