Why does noone seem to care about something so major?

48 comments

  4. I mean…it’s a balloon. A pretty shitty balloon. A pretty shitty balloon that the Pentagon elected not to shoot down because the minute danger of falling debris is of more concern than the pretty shitty balloon.

    China is such a silly goose.

  8. Nah. I’m more worried about the things we don’t see or the fact we let them continue to buy out our farm land and industry.

  9. Not really concerned about what it could do, but I’m concerned that our DoD just let it come here.

  10. No, but if Xi Jinpeng decides to drop a steaming turd on my desk then I’ll be really concerned

  13. There was a balloon?

    Seems pretty low tech. I’m concerned about China (and Russia) and have been since experts were railing against “the wall” saying we should be focusing on China and Russia.

    But I can’t imagine what danger a balloon is? Maybe if someone states how it’s more damaging than cyberspying and satellites I’ll be worried.

    What are those who know about this shit saying?

  16. Not at all. If they want to take a few pictures of Montana I’m not sure what they expect to find. I’m fairly confident our military is capable of making good decisions on this based on their knowledge of the drone.

  17. I live in Montana. No I’m not concerned. My guess is it is a experiment launched from MSU in Bozeman actually. China has their own fleet of spy satellites so it’s not them.

  20. What would said balloon see thats any different than Google Maps? And how backward are these people to even need a balloon? Thats what satellites are for. I can only imagine the US government can see every minute inch of the planet these days with all the recent unspecified military satellites being launched by SpaceX on Falcon 9s.

  21. Montana is Big Sky country, so there’s plenty of sky for the drone to fly. Seriously, we have worse problems right now and my Worry Bucket is already full to the brim of other stuff to worry about.

  23. China has satellites orbiting in space that can see exactly what that shitty balloon can see. If there were any threat posed by it, it would have been shot down by now

  24. It’s concerning but not really anything new. I’m more concerned about Chinese industrial espionage, CCP police buildings on US soil, and Chinese corporations buying up real estate and farmland.

    I’m of the belief that the U.S. and China will be involved in some sort of kinetic altercation up to and including all out war within 10-15 years.

  25. Not only is it just a shitty balloon, but it’s watching Montana. Of all the states to watch they chose Montana. Clearly they don’t know what they’re doing and aren’t worth our time.

  27. Surprised no one hasn’t shot it down over a field. Not the military but some random Joe in a private plane/helicopter or from the ground depending on how high the balloon is.

    Also, balloons China really, what is this UP?

  29. There’s so much stuff about it that it isn’t even worth worrying about. We had a chance to down it Wednesday and chose not to apparently, I’m gonna assume the government knows something we don’t about it

  30. I’m not concerned, they could float around Montana for a decade and still not find any useful information there

  31. No use panicking. I’m worried, but it’s someone else’s job, and there is nothing I personally can do about it.

  33. Pretty sure the Pentagon has a better handle on exactly how much or little of a threat this balloon poses than any random redditor.

    If a real threat was posed by this balloon it would not be hanging out over Montana or any other state.

    The fact that it is still there indicates to me that shooting it down would cause more damage to American interests than just letting it do it’s thing.

  34. When I was stationed at Fort Irwin back in the early 90’s they had the capability of reading a soldiers name tape on their uniform from space during training exercises. And that was around 30 years ago and wasn’t classified. So just think what they can do now that is classified.

  38. No, it was just a naval Intel Ballon that didn’t deflate over the Pacific like normal. Noting of value was gained

  39. I mean, people much more knowledgeable about the situation don’t seem to be that worried about it, so why should I be? I have enough of my own stuff to be worried about.

  40. What are they going to see in Montana? I mean, beautiful views but beyond that?

    Plus, what on earth could I do about it?

  41. It’s unsettling, but it’s way over there and I’m here. Plus Montana is just buffalo and cowboys 😂

  43. There are so many ways to gather and steal information these days, what’s a fucking balloon going to do?

  44. Aircraft, including balloons, do offer some specific advantages over spy satellites when it comes to intelligence gathering. It has mostly to do with persistence over a single target. Satellites move very quickly and cannot observe a single point for more than a few minutes. A balloon or fixed-wing aircraft can watch a target for hours or days at a time.

    If this is actually some kind of Chinese spy mission than I am confident that they understand the strengths and weaknesses of a balloon relative other alternatives. They will surely have a reason to use a balloon.

    That being said, if the Air Force doesn’t think it’s worth shooting down, then I am inclined to believe them.

  45. I’m unemployed, have developing health concerns and living costs are steadily increasing. Hard to be upset about being fucked when you are already fucked

  46. The stupid Chinese didn’t get any sponsors for the balloon. It’s literally a plain white balloon. Ain’t no news gonna cover it without getting those sweet sweet endorsement dollars from sponsors!

  47. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but our military tends to be a bit proactive. So if they’re not even sweating it, I’m not.

  48. It was probably to probe air defense scramble times and detection ranges. The US just elected to not give them that info by ignoring it entirely.

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