This past week has been a mess; war in Europe, nuclear threat, blah blah blah, but one thing has been living in my mind rent free: the People’s Liberation Spy Balloon, launched by China.
For a first approach, why in heavens would you pick a balloon for spying purposes if you have thousands of questionable quality satellites all around space? Well, easy answer here: it flies lower so it can avoid most cloud formations and can also take higher quality photos of the Top Gun: Maverick’s Sr72 Darthstar (China’s already seemed interested on spying it).
But let’s recall this spy balloon’s life, because it’s an interesting one. It was initially spotted, shared, and tracked through mIRC, an open-source chat platform, as it flew through the Aleutian Islands, the Pacific, Canada, and then entered Idaho, in the USA. Common questions are; How was it controlled? What is there that is important to spy? Where are my keys? And why didn’t a drunk redneck shoot it down?
First question reminds me of the ‘40s (serious wild times), when the Japanese used the same tactic with balloons but, instead of cameras, they strapped bombs and blisters filled with bubonic pestilence to attack the USA. The majority of these balloons ended up falling in Canada, where a few cases of the plague were noticed, while the USA was overreacting on Japan with two nuclear devices. Anyway, I’ll give the Japanese two points: one for creativity, and the other for using an old school plague.
But getting back to the question; the balloon cannot be controlled from other than the air currents that push it away, that’s why it followed that specific route, the same as the Japanese Amazon delivery balloons in the ‘40s. The Chinese knew it, and that’s what takes us to the next question… What is there? Montana.
And why Montana? Because the USA’s intercontinental ballistic missiles are located there, scattered all over the place in tiny underground bunkers with one or two wire-free apocalyptic sticks.
Also, it’s important to say that the reason why the USA didn’t shoot the balloon down before entering the continent are still unclear, as it depends on national security and secret stuff, so I won’t get there, but…….. It still is the first confirmed air to air kill of an F-22 Raptor fighter! All aviation fans like me are currently “memeing” the situation, so if our civilization will soon end in nuclear devastation, balloon memes will be our last archaeological evidence…
