I remember some of HN users saying the chinese balloon was nothing to worry about because their satellites could gather more sensitive information anyways.
I guess this proves them wrong?
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Low altitude platforms like this excel when it comes to forms of ELINT and SIGINT. Interestingly, SIGINT these days refers to more pedestrian forms of radio communications and in certain cases radars. ELINT in many cases cannot be collected via satellite since ionized regions of the atmosphere occlude signals before they could even reach sensors.
Information on this incident is obviously heavily manipulated, but what I found interesting was once the US divulged a U2 was orbiting the object for some time (primarily because it was one of our only known platforms that could loiter at such a high altitude) TheDrive reported that as we were attempting to collect ELINT from the balloon the transmitters on the balloon were too powerful to jam [0].
I'm not a fan of politics here on HN, but I still maintain this as one of the biggest blows geopolitically to our national security in decades.
0 - https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/u-2-spy-planes-snooped...
>collect ELINT from the balloon the transmitters on the balloon were too powerful to jam
No need to to disrupt the transmitters on the balloon that are up-linking data to the satellites.
Simply overload the balloons' C&C receiver front-end, given the closer proximity of the shadowing aircraft.
I've talked to a fried who works on these kinds of systems (ex-defense industry). He claims that the reports of the US having trouble jamming are pretty accurate.
Of course, when I asked him to elaborate he said "yeah, can't really tell you the specifics haha"
yeah, it is very easy, and I'm trying to be very non-specific.
The govt fabricated bullshit about WMDs in Iraq, I don't see why they wouldn't lie about a baloon.
Terrorism was used to pass the patriot act, anti-Chinese sentiment is being used for The Restrict Act and god knows what else is in the pipeline.
I guess every crisis has its early deniers.
Why would China risk this move if it does not gain anything from it.
Lots of Five Cent Army here on HN.