US Military Shot Down Unidentified ‘Object’ Near Alaska

The White House “claimed” the Pentagon downed an unknown object off the coast of Alaska. The Joe Biden administration downplayed the incident claiming the craft was only shot down as a precaution.

US Military Shot Down Unidentified ‘Object’ Near Alaska

Related:

Washington Is Upset Beijing Did Not Take Hotline Call After Balloon Shootdown

Washington being upset with Beijing for being unavailable for talks is ironic as last week, America’s top diplomat scrapped high-level meetings in China. The State Department claimed it did not want Blinken’s meeting with China’s foreign minister, and potential Chinese President Xi Jinping, to be dominated by conversations about the balloon.

I was hoping that they were done with the balloons! At least, I get to use some more balloon memes! 😉

China’s suspected spy balloon had Western-made components with English writing on them, report says

China’s suspected spy balloon had Western-made components with English writing on them, report says

Related:

EXPLAINER -What we know and don’t know about the Chinese balloon

By looks and by size, it resembles balloons made by U.S. firm Aerostar, whose own balloon was mistaken for the Chinese one while flying over Memphis.

Aerostar is an aerospace and defence contractor that supplies stratospheric balloons to the likes of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made out of polyethylene film that can fly for over 200 days and carry hundreds of pounds.

It also previously had a deal with Google to use such balloons to provide internet to rural areas.

Other companies that develop stratospheric balloon systems include U.S. space tourism firm World View and French firm CNIM Air Space.

[2019] US military begins testing flying surveillance balloons across the country to TRACK people’s movements

Stratollites can maintain position over specific areas of interest for days, weeks, and eventually months on end. This allows for more sustained measurements and monitoring capabilities over a targeted area. Stratollites can carry a wide variety of commercial payloads (sensors, telescopes, communications arrays, etc.), launch rapidly on demand, and safely return payloads back to earth after mission completion.

Worldview Stratollites are commercial high altitude balloons like Google Loon – Worldview had an explosion December 2017

Manufacturing Consent: Pentagon Says Chinese Balloons Have Traveled Over the US Before

Or just manufacture your own crisis with your own balloons!

Pentagon Says Chinese Balloons Have Traveled Over the US Before

The official said that Chinese balloons “transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time.”

Fox News reported that at least one Chinese balloon flew over Florida and Texas during the Trump administration, but President Trump and former top officials in his administration strongly denied the claim.

Later, an unnamed senior Biden administration official claimed to Fox that the balloons that transited over the US during the Trump administration were only “discovered” after he left office. “They went undetected,” the administration official said.