All you’ll ever need to know about those spy balloons
As an aside, it appears that Jao Bai-Ding, in accordance with the wishes of his ChiCom owners, has fulfilled the Bee’s prophecy: Biden Says He’ll Shoot Down Chinese Spy Balloon As Soon As He’s Done Letting It Spy. Brandon Smith has a look into it.
There are numerous theories as to why such a surveillance platform would be used by the CCP and what it is designed to look for, and I thought I would offer a couple theories based on my years of study into similar projects pursued by the US Department of Defense and DARPA.
Lidar Observation From A Balloon Platform
The Chinese have been messing with lidar technology a lot lately. Lidar uses pulsed lasers to measure small variations in terrain to uncover hidden shapes and structures. It also has a knack for cutting through forest canopy and other obstructions. The problem with lidar is that the platforms commonly used to carry the apparatus are faster moving and only capture a snapshot in time. Also, it cannot see through thick clouds, dust, rain, snow or fog.
NASA and DARPA have both been testing lidar from balloons as a means to keep the lasers in the sky longer above a specific area. The Chinese balloon also looks somewhat similar to the equipment used on European lidar balloon experiments.
A lidar based spy balloon would explain Chinese interest in Eastern Montana, where there are numerous known nuclear missile silos as well as suspected hidden silos. The Chinese balloon did in fact come near at least one known nuclear missile base near Billings. Lidar could be exploited to find hidden bases in the region.
Weapons Delivery Platform
High altitude balloons are cheap and relatively effective surveillance platforms that can be used much like satellites but, with the right equipment, could become far more maneuverable. With the CCP’s limited resources it makes sense that they would be utilizing low-cost and low visibility measures instead of expensive and easier to target long range drones or spy planes.
However, these systems are not just useful for observation – They can also be used to deliver weapons packages, including EMP weapons, nuclear weapons and biological agents. The US has been testing balloons for nuclear delivery ever since Operation Yucca in 1956.
In the event of war between China and the US, the CCP may be looking for a way to strike with weapons of mass destruction with a passive delivery system that’s hard to defend against.
The EMP business is worrisome, sure. But war—actual, literal, armies-marching-as-to-no-shit war? Sorry, but despite the recent alarums raised in various quarters about a Chinese attack and/or invasion of the FUSA, I still can’t find it in myself to fret overmuch about the possibility. I mean, why on earth would they bother? They already OWN us lock, stock, and barrel, in both political and economic terms. Given their real-estate acquisitions here over the last several years, a hot war with us would only mean willfully and needlessly ruining the return on their investment.
Then again, though, they’re fucking Commies, so what would they know about maximizing return on investment anyway?
In the end, it all comes down to this: Who really needs military conquest and the attendant hassle, aggravation, and expense, when they de facto defeated us years ago—with the full and witting cooperation of America’s greedy, traitorous Ruling Class—without ever actually having to fire a shot?