comment: >
  
  Okay random reddit user, I'm sure you know better than the legion of intelligence and military personnel who decided this was the best option.
  You're gonna be real concerned when you find out about spy satellites
context: They just shot it down >
  
  Well I hope that balloon wasn't inflated with zombie outbreak juice. >
  
  It was over the ocean >
  
  Zombie sharks are nuttin to fuck wit! >
  
  Their recovery time is not that great to be honest. I'd give a solid hour and 45 minutes and gatorade. >
  
  Fun fact. During WW2 Japan used balloons to send bombs to the US. One bomb killed 6 people in Oregon. >
  
  Weren’t those 6 like all kids? I think a pastor and his wife were taking 5 kids from their church to a beach and the kids found the bomb on the ground.
  Edit: yeah 5 kids and a pregnant woman, fuck imperial Japan >
  
  To be fair, I think we did something similar >
  
  We intentionally bombed Japan yes but we knew what we were hitting. They just released these bombs and they go where they go. For all Japan knew it could have gone into Mexico or another non involved country. >
  
  So they didn’t have any “planned” targets, but we intentionally killed children and blew up schools?
  I’m not rooting for imperial Japan, but its absurd to think that we were a saint in that war. War is bad for everyone. >
  
  They were trying to create wildfires in the West.  Now climate change is doing that for them. >
  
  Charleston, SC, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington, NC are the three airports. >
  
  It just got shot down.
  Indubitably >
  
  Someone smarter than me: what are the implications/repercussions >
  
  Chinese weather forecast in shambles >
  
  Chinese are extremely interested in the weather near Billings Montana and Raleigh NC. >
  
  As is tradition >
  
  They're probably shooting that thing down once it gets over the ocean. >
  
  In regards to the 2nd balloon over Latin America; did that balloon "blow off course" too? >
  
  The trash from the Tsunami that hit Japan got carried up and down the coast of North and South America. >
  
  As someone on one of those coasts, may I see a source? >
  
  Neat, just clicked the link and saw it popped like 30 seconds later. >
  
  I’ve been sitting a plane that was grounded for this meant to go Charlotte to Myrtle beach at 1pm EST for 3 hours now.
  We are finally going to take off now. >
  
  No one tell China they can just use google maps. >
  
  I doubt it had cameras. It was probably being used for signals intelligence. >
  
  So what's going to happen to the boy who was flying in the balloon? >
  
  Balloon just got shot down >
  
  I wonder what China would do if we flew a spy balloon over their country… >
  
  Probably what we did. Chase it with a series of signals intelligence aircraft (in the USAF's case, a series of R-135U Combat Sent) , recording every bit and packet it transmitted for further analysis of encryption protocols and data types, and then when the three letter agencies thought they had what they needed from a live aircraft, puncture a few balloons so they could see what might be gathered from the dead one. >
  
  Bruh China would have shot that shit down immediately, civilians be fucked. >
  
  No they wouldn’t, because killing soldiers is an act of war. >
  
  No if the US sent a balloon, and shooting down spy planes in the past has not started any wars. >
  
  Because shooting down spy planes isn’t done. >
  
  
  1960
  
  Spycraft has advanced in the past 60 years. >
  
  You’re right that spy planes aren’t really used in the same way anymore (directly flying over countries to take photos). But an active spy plane flown over China or Russia taking photos would be shot down and no war would start. >
  
  In my day James bond would parachute land on it. Take control and stop a doomsday crisis. Yall ain't seen shit yet. >
  
  We're actually going to fly another balloon next to it while Harrison Ford takes a zip line between the two. >
  
  “GET OFF OF MY BALLOON. kick” >
  
  I don't think they need much more than 1 shot at the balloon to bring it down. >
  
  Does anyone have video of the ballon being shot down? This is the highlight of my boring day and I find it kind of cool this is happening. It’s rare that we civilians get to see this kind of stuff >
  
  video >
  
  Thank you dude I appreciate you! >
  
  You know we used to allow Russia/USSR to fly planes over the US as part of a treaty. It's not like all these secret sites haven't already been mapped out. It definitely should be shot down though. Should have done it when it was over Montana where no one is. >
  
  they just shot it down! >
  
  Bang bang that awful sound.
  Bang bang it hit the [water] >
  
  What are all the white poofs floating down more slowly than the popped balloon? >
  
  They're the thermite charges, obviously >
  
  Naw, that there is all the 5G escaping. >
  
  Who is starting the go fund me to send a Macys parade sized Winnie the Pooh ballon to Beijing? >
  
  Fun, it's getting shot down like right next to where I live :/ >
  
  Is this a rescue of Balloon Boy? >
  
  They wanted to put their 5g in the us so bad. >
  
  Not sure I understand why a foreign aircraft is allowed over protected airspace, when it’s not only disrupting airline services, but also that’s it’s a fucking foreign aircraft that has obviously raised more questions than answers. >
  
  It was high enough to not disrupt commercial flights. They've halted flights because they now plan on blowing it up and are afraid the debris could affect planes.
  The US government considered blowing it up over Montana, but decided not to. I have a feeling the US government understands the nuances of a foreign aircraft in our airspace better than you or I do. >
  
  No no. We know everything! >
  
  It's not a spy balloon, it's a weather balloon that blew off course. It doesn't have much capability as a spy balloon, it can only be controlled to go up and down. China has plenty of satellites to accomplish spying with with much more accuracy and data collection ability. It's a bullshit story to increase tensions with China. >
  
  Stop the nonsense we surveille every country continously  but we give adamn about a balloon WTF >
  
  Not in their airspace >
  
  Let’s go Grandpa Joe! Unleashed the F22 and let us watch on TV. And fuck you for letting it cross into the US in the first place! >
  
  He told the military to shoot it down when it was over Montana. They advised against it and gave him alternative options.
  Fuck him for being well advised and not just swinging his dick around to his hearts content, right? >
  
  I think the nuance here is that if they drop it over water they are more likely to have something intact that they can investigate to see what they are up to. >
  
  Oh man!!! Now what crazy fun thing can they distract us with next? I say more balloons- maybe some colored ones !! Hurray!! Or like giant piñatas!  🪅 ⚪️🤣 >
  
  So will the pilots who shot it down get to paint a balloon silhouette with Chinese flag on their planes? >
  
  Over reaction much?
  The media can make a tick seem like godzilla. 
  Why are millions of people so damn scared about everything?
  I guess most really are like Pavlovs dogs.
  The media blows their whistle and these people freak! >
  
  So... Instead of shooting down the damn thing. The government closes airports thus canceling flights and disrupting travel plans of avarage Americans.
  China government officials must be laughing at how one balloon managed to cause so much panic for little effort. >
  
  The panic is 98% media driven.  The US government opted, on military advice, to not blow it up due to a wide possible debris radius, until it got over water. >
  
  Yeah because Montana is so populated.  They missed their opportunity to do it there because they tried to hide its existence, then when the public saw it, it was too late to take action. >
  
  It's populated enough. 
  A lot of people whose job it is to analyze situations like this, because they are good at it, made the decision.  Just because some other people, who get paid to be angry about things on TV, told everybody else they should be angry about it, doesn't make the people who made the decision wrong.
  Decisions shouldn't just be made on emotion and whatever people think will play best on TV. >
  
  Well whatever data they needed from those locations has already been sent to China sooo…. Poor decision making.