Biden's balloon problem

[butlersrangers]

For an Administration, as full of 'Hot Air' as our present Feckless Executive Branch, the solution should be obvious for dealing with a Chinese balloon .... send up our own 'high altitude balloon' and arm the crew with blunderbusses!

The French have been dabbling with Balloon Duels, since 1808. This is hardly new technology ... Easy Peasy!

If Biden needs a Balloon Czar, there's a whole bunch of qualified candidates in Washington ... or maybe Mayor Golightly of Chicago.

[King carp]

Too bad Lt. Frank Luke is no longer with us. He would take quick care of it!

[butlersrangers]

I think Northwestern Military Academy came through for us, with Krag 'school rifles' and M-1895 Colt machineguns, mounted on their Cadillac "Balloon Destroyers".

Don't mess with the U.S.!!!

[Doubly Reincarnated]

Anyone seriously committed to our country's defense would have downed the thing as soon as it crossed the border. All that BS about not endangering the public. When it was over Montana? Who is Biden working for?

[Dick Hosmer]

Himself!

Just the latest incident in a string of nincompoopery that strains belief.

I'm torn as who is/was the crookedest President, but Brandon is definitely hands-down the stupidest.

[MooseNugget]

Biden's new narrative that will be shared at the President's State of the Union Address:

"Kamala and I personally took matters into our own hands and eliminated the Chinese balloon threat!!!"

[butlersrangers]

More 'BALLOON NEWS': Recovered surveillance footage, unsung gunner-hero, and a new threat is looming.

[King carp]

He was there in spirit. The F-22 that took down China's surveillance balloon used the call sign 'FRANK01' in an homage to a heroic pilot from world war 1.
American World War I fighter ace, Frank Luke Jr (1897 - 1918), with his SPAD S.XIII biplane, France, 18th September 1918.
American World War I fighter ace, Frank Luke Jr (1897 - 1918), with his SPAD S.XIII biplane, France, 18th September 1918.
On Saturday, F-22 pilots shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon floating near South Carolina.
The pilot went by the call sign "FRANK01," an homage to a WWI hero.
Frank Luke Jr. was an airman credited with shooting down 14 German balloons during the war.




Onlookers cheered as the pilot, identified as "FRANK01," circled China's spy balloon near Myrtle Beach as it floated over the Atlantic Ocean, waiting until the object was safely away from civilians on the ground to avoid the risk of falling debris.

Pilots use call signs in place of their names when communicating, both for security and identification purposes. The "FRANK" call sign was a reference to a WWI pilot, Frank Luke, the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor after shooting down over a dozen aircraft, including 10 spy balloons, in just eight days during World War I.

"I'm really incredibly proud of everybody that took place in this. But the F-22 was remarkable," General Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, said in a Monday press conference. "I'd remind everybody that the call sign of the first flight was Frank 01."


VanHerck lauded Luke's WWI successes in taking down enemy balloons, before adding: "So how fitting is it that Frank 01 took down this balloon in sovereign air space of the United States of America within our territorial waters."

Luke's achievement in battle was unsurpassed by any other pilot in the war, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The brash, young pilot, nicknamed the "Arizona Balloon Buster," was driven by a desire for glory, the outlet reported — and his name and reputation have survived more than 100 years after his death at the hands of German soldiers.

"I will make myself known or go where most of them do," Air & Space Forces Magazine reported Luke wrote to his sister during his days in the 27th Squadron.

Luke, a second lieutenant, was killed after attempting an unauthorized balloon-hunting mission behind enemy lines. His reputation as a hero was so prolific that, after his death, it was rumored he killed seven additional German soldiers who approached him as he lay dying before succumbing to a lethal machine gun wound.


The fighter ace was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his military victories and bravery.

"He was the most daring aviator and greatest fighter pilot of the entire war," Captain "Eddie" V. Rickenbacker said of Luke, according to the Air Force. Rickenbacker was the leading Ace while Luke was America's second-ranking Ace in World War I. Ace airmen are credited with shooting down five or more aircraft — and Luke achieved the status in two missions over the course of two days.

Rickenbacker added: "His life is one of the brightest glories of our Air Service."

[FredC]

Getting serious about the balloon I am sure most remember the tape recorder in "Mission Impossible" that self-destructed after it played the message. I know for a fact the government secure phones would destroy the software if anyone tried to disassemble one. I made the hinge pins for them back in the late 80s. If these balloons are not weather satellites as claimed by the Chinese, you know the payload will self destruct if anyone tries to open it up for a looksie. Could be a bad deal if one fell in a school yard.

Popping the balloon at 60,000 feet without destroying the payload is a problem. Regular fighter planes cannot get high enough to pop the balloon with conventional bullets. Seems like the weapon of choice would be a bowling ball covered with fishhooks or razor blades through the balloon if you wanted the payload to land gently. I doubt if that was in the warhead inventory for the missile that was used.

Bet there are smart people getting ready for next time.

[butlersrangers]

Ya, the Chinese are a lot smarter than President 'Feckless Joe' Biden!