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aggasalk OP t1_j72zvyf wrote

Reply to comment by SuperSyrias in How could a high-altitude surveillance balloon be captured? by aggasalk

i don't think helicopters or drones can get up to 60,000 feet...

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ShrimpFriedMyRice t1_j738sen wrote

Helicopters, drones, and bullets cannot reach the balloon. A fighter jet might be able to if it's a specialized one with tech we don't know about. For reference, the F16 can only hit 50k feet and the SR71 can hit 85k feet. Weather balloons can be as high as 120k feet.

The reason the US hasn't done anything is probably a combination of damage on the ground, the fact that satellites exist and could probably do way more Intel gathering than a balloon drifting in the wind, and that by destroying the balloon we've shown the world how we deal with that situation.

The element of surprise is huge and if your enemy doesn't know how you'll answer and react to certain situations, it makes them nervous. By destroying the balloon, we show China and the world our capabilities and response. It's better to keep them guessing and ignore it.

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WealthyMarmot t1_j75au0h wrote

The F-22 and F-15 can both hit 65,000 ft. Hence why the USAF investigated using F-22s, according to the first news reports.

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qwertyshark t1_j75ofu0 wrote

Just checked google and F15 ceiling limit shows as 50.000ft is there something I’m missing?

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WealthyMarmot t1_j75ti4z wrote

Not sure what you're seeing, but 65,000 can be found on the USAF page for the F-15, which also matches up with what I've seen elsewhere. Most modern twin-engine fighters are in the same ballpark, including the F-22, Eurofighter Typhoon, China's J-15 and Russia's SU-35.

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paranoiamachine t1_j732v68 wrote

Wow. Do we know approximately big it is, then? It's gotta be huge to be as visible as it is from that height.

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CompetitiveYou2034 t1_j73wyop wrote

The balloon part must be large, to reliably stay aloft for a ten thousand mile (?) voyage, and haul say 100 lbs (?) payload.

We only care about the spy payload, which might be quite small.

Very sure the US Air Force is closely examining this, and has a sense of it's actual size.

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unskilledplay t1_j74dmod wrote

ISS has an end-to-end width of about a football field orbits at 1.2M feet hight, 20 times further away than this balloon. Yet anyone can take a photo of it from their own back yard.

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SuperSyrias t1_j730jf7 wrote

ah.. didnt know it was that high. k... leaves the "make a hole" bit, then.

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