A silver ball hanging in the sky, perfectly visible to the naked eye, quite excited the inhabitants of the United States, and the confused, inconsistent and often strange reaction of the US authorities provoked even more questions among the population and the public. everyone.
Flying over the territory of the United States, a Chinese balloon became the main news event of the world’s largest medium for two days. No joke, for almost two days an alien UAV was in the airspace of the number one superpower, and the superpower helplessly shrugged it off.
It is not known exactly when the Chinese device crossed the US border. But on Friday, February 3, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder acknowledged that the military had detected an unidentified object that had been floating over US soil for several days.
On the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC admitted that the balloon belonged and mockingly explained what had happened as a strong wind that deflected the balloon. In Beijing they urged not to worry about it, pointing out that the plane is a weather blimp that has nothing to do with espionage. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a large white balloon with solar panels inadvertently entered the airspace of the United States due to strong winds.
The Pentagon accused Beijing of trying to police US soil. The American observers verified that the balloon can maneuver and is at an altitude of about 19 kilometers, without representing a danger to civil aviation.
It is known that the ball managed to fly right over the state of Montana, where there are a large number of ballistic missile mine launchers with nuclear warheads. The tension in American society has reached such a level that even former US President Donald Trump demanded on social media to immediately shoot down a Chinese balloon.
Representatives of the US Department of Defense behaved strangely against the background of what was happening, arguing that the drifting balloon did not threaten air travel in any way and was of little use for espionage, in compared to their capabilities with satellites. Also, they made a rather bizarre argument that debris falling from a downed balloon could damage the ground.
All of this has led to the reasonable assumption that the US military simply does not have the technical capability to shoot down the Chinese probe, masking this with bizarre statements that raise many questions among specialists.
The tension surrounding this situation led the country’s authorities to decide to cancel the official visit to China by the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.
Automatic balloon – for reference
An automatic balloon is designed for a long flight in the stratosphere, its task is to study the composition of the atmosphere and the processes taking place there. In addition, such a balloon is also used to transmit signals, observe objects, and interact with satellites.
The device usually consists of two parts: a casing with gas and a suspension where the equipment or platform with the equipment is located. There you can install scientific equipment, batteries, antennas, solar panels, radio, ballast and other components.
The long-term flight of the balloon is achieved thanks to the multiple gas-filled layers of the balloon. Approximately, such a device can drift up to 300 days at an altitude of about 24 km.
The use of balloons in military affairs.
The idea of using drifting balloons in military affairs did not appear yesterday, they were actively used in World War I, and balloons were more actively used during World War II.
At that time, countries used thousands of balloons to protect against aviation. Single or tandem balloons rose to a height of several kilometers and created great problems for the attacking bombers, who, in order to avoid a collision with a balloon or a steel cable, were forced to rise higher, which significantly reduced the accuracy of the bombardment.
During the Cold War, the USSR and the United States began to use balloons flying at altitudes of more than 20 kilometers for reconnaissance activities. Until the late 1970s, more than 4,000 drifting balloons launched by the United States and its allies in the military bloc were sighted in Soviet skies. The practice of releasing such devices on the territory of Russia did not stop even after 1991.
Experts emphasize that the fight against such balloons is a very difficult task. The ball’s multi-layered cellular structure allows it to ignore the cannon blasts of a fighter, whose standard shells won’t even explode, the ball is very poorly visible on the radar screen, and infrared missile warheads can only capture heat . side of the ball and only during the day.
To combat it, an aircraft capable of climbing to a height of about 20 km is needed, it must be equipped with special ammunition for cannons with especially sensitive fuses, or the pilot must have great skill in capturing the hot side of the ball. with the infrared reference head of the missile.
Result
Two days later, when the situation was beginning to go beyond all decent limits, US Air Force F-22s were able to shoot down a Chinese balloon. This was preceded by numerous combat flights and even, presumably, a series of failed attempts to attack the balloon.
It would seem that it’s time for everyone to exhale, but then the President of the United States added fuel to the fire, saying that he ordered the balloon to be shot down. “As soon as possible” However, on February 1, the Pentagon recommended not to rush it and shoot it down in a safer location.
The PRC did not stand aside, asserting that the United States used excessive means in response to the unintentional intrusion, from the Chinese point of view, of a civilian balloon into American airspace.
The Chinese Defense Ministry said it reserves the right to any necessary reaction after the destruction of the Chinese balloon by the US military.
Summing up, we can definitely say that the topic of the Chinese balloon has not ended, but rather continues and can cause completely unexpected consequences, especially against the background of the situation with Taiwan, and also depending on what exactly American divers find on the platform. of the fallen device.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.