Never mind the balloons. Here is what is coming next. Hope Musk is prepared. China threatens to block Musk's Starlink with rival fleet of 13,000 satellites https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...h-rival-fleet-of-13000-satellites/ar-AA17ZdfX China has threatened to block Elon Musk’s Starlink with a rival fleet of 13,000 satellites amid claims they pose a potential military threat and could spy on the Communist country. A new academic paper published in the military-sponsored Journal of the Chinese Society of Command and Control suggested that lasers and microwaves should be used to shoot down Starlink satellites. Starlink’s Earth-orbiting satellites are currently in the process of being deployed to cover the entire planet. The company says the network is intended to provide global internet connectivity, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Yet the Chinese paper claimed that its true purpose is to provide military reconnaissance, “seamless intelligence” and even a “missile early warning and kinetic energy interception network”. The report said: “Although the US Space Exploration Corporation stated that the purpose of building the Starlink constellation is to provide space-based Internet services covering the world, the Starlink constellation has received strong support from the US military during the construction and deployment process.” The paper also hints that a Chinese-made rival to Starlink, known as “GW”, could be used in a land grab to keep Starlink out. GW will see 12,992 satellites launched into orbit as a direct commercial and military rival to Starlink’s estimated 3,500 spacecraft, the paper says. Neutralising Starlink’s threat to China could involve using “high-power microwaves” or laser weapons to cause “soft damage” to the communications satellites, according to Professor Xu Can of the Chinese army’s Space Engineering University in Beijing. He said: “Lasers, high-power microwaves, etc. can be used to damage the reconnaissance payloads that may be carried by the Starlink satellites, making them lose their reconnaissance capabilities.” Suggestions that the Chinese military should cause “soft damage” to block Starlink comes as the company appears increasingly unwilling to continue its support to Ukraine, whose military is heavily dependent upon Starlink. Earlier this month SpaceX, the company behind Starlink, accused Ukraine of “weaponising” the network, with company president Gwynne Shotwell saying: “Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement.” Similarly, Mr Musk himself has said that SpaceX is preventing Ukraine from using Starlink to carry out long-range drone strikes. Although Starlink terminals were rushed to Ukraine in the early days after the Russian invasion last year, SpaceX has grown increasingly wary of their use. Mr Musk publicly complained about the cost of providing Ukraine’s military and civil society free access to the terminals, leading to the US government providing funding. The service has been used to provide Wi-Fi access to civilians in Ukrainian cities, following a deliberate Russian policy of destroying mobile phone masts and data centres to cut off Ukraine’s internet access from the outside world.
Russian fighter jets dump fuel on American drone, collide with it over Black Sea, Pentagon says By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Tuesday, March 14, 2023 A Russian fighter jet dumped fuel on a U.S. drone and later collided with the American craft over the Black Sea on Tuesday, forcing U.S. personnel to bring down the drone in international waters and prompting Pentagon officials to blast the Russian side as “unsafe and unprofessional.” Defense Department officials said two Russian Su-27 planes tried to intercept the U.S. MQ-9 drone that was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea. The propeller of one of the Su-27 aircraft struck the U.S. drone, forcing American crews to bring the drone down at sea. Before the collision, officials said that “the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.” U.S. officials said the conduct of the Su-27s demonstrates an apparent “lack of competence” on the Russian side. “Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.” The general added, “U.S. and allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace, and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely.” U.S. officials said Tuesday’s incident is the latest in a string of unsafe, unprofessional actions in the Black Sea region. The sea is a vital area for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
China bitches and wants a weather balloon back.... wonder what Joe will say about this. The problem is the price. In 2008 they were $14 million apiece, but the Air Force’s latest budget figures shows each new Reaper costs $32 million. That makes them even more expensive than the pricey, top-end AH-64E Apache attack helicopter. It is a lot for what is, at heart, supposed to be an expendable drone. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidh...force-needs-a-cheaper-reaper/?sh=79115c32946f
I bet there's a Russian sub or surface ship on its way to pick that thing up so they can reverse engineer it too. That's BS. We need to get that thing before they do. Biden needs to tell them we are on our way to get it, and if they so much as lay one finger on that thing, its an act of effing war.
prolly whatever he's told to say. As long as he's not on vacation, that is, lol. In that case, Poopy say Fok Off. Poopy got his for generations to come. USA got - ?
Time to use traditional weapons. Time for the Russians to use lasso rope rather than pouring jet fuel to catch the spy UAV plane. Time for the US to use an arrow with a burning tip to bring down the balloon.
MQ-9 Reaper Is Capable Of Defending Itself With Air-To-Air Missiles The MQ-9 Reaper can engage aerial targets with the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, but the will to field it operationally is another story. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/yes-the-mq-9-can-defend-itself-with-air-to-air-missiles
U.S. official who has seen the video of the Su-27 colliding with the MQ-9 Reaper ascribes the incident to gross incompetence rather than deliberate action.
Russia to try recovering downed US drone, as US vows to 'protect our equities' Russian fighter jet collided with US drone, and US says, 'We obviously don't want to see anybody getting their hands on it' https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russia-try-recovering-downed-us-drone-us-vows-protect-our-equities Russia will attempt to retrieve US drone wreckage from Black Sea https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-03-15-23/index.html The Russian Security Council Secretary and the former chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Nikolai Patrushev said on Wednesday that Russia will try to get the wreckage of an American MQ-9 drone that fell into the Black Sea in order to study it. “I don’t know if we will be able to get it or not, but we need to do it ... And we will definitely look into it,” said Patrushev said on Russian state TV Rossiya 1. “As for the drone, the Americans keep saying that they are not participating in hostilities. This is yet another confirmation that they are directly involved in these events, in the war,” he added. Patrushev said Russia already counters such actions. “We must defend our independence and sovereignty," he said. Some more context: The US has not recovered the drone that was forced down by a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea Tuesday, according to National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby. He warned that he was "not sure we are going to be able to recover it." "We did the best we could to minimize any intelligence value that might come from somebody else getting their hands on that drone," he added. The Kremlin said relations between Russia and the US are at their “lowest point” and in a “deplorable state,” following the drone's downing. Moscow pushed back, denying its fighter jets came "into contact" with the US drone.