Gamera

Sounds more successful than my business of shoving Baby Ruth candy bars into sandwich bags and selling them as Satchquatch poop.... 

What if the US sends one back with only a big yellow smiley face on it?

According to this link by Navair, the Block II AIM-9X has a new Imaging Infrared capability, among others. So that may be how it was able to lock on to the balloon envelope.

https://www.navair.navy.mil/product/AIM-9X-Sidewinder

Eaglecash867

I'm also a little puzzled as to how an AIM-9X locks onto and kills something that doesn't have a heat signature.

 

It may have some signature.  That was a big solar array, indicating its avionics package uses a lot of power.  That energy  virtually all ends up as heat.

I beleive they used a sidewinder because it has a relatively small warhead and they did not want to destroy the thing.

 BTW, there were several LTE in my morning newspaper about the balloon. One suggested retaliating by sending a Winni the Poo over China.

MJY65

It was an AIM-9X with no warhead.  

 

So it was a dart. Smart

It was an AIM-9X with no warhead.  

I also wonder if the balloon was enough to trigger the warhead, either through the proximity sensor or by contact, or if it just drove through the balloon and shredded it without detonating.

armornut

You are welcome Fox. Eaglecash I also heard that the sidewinder used, locked onto the balloon because it was emitting a certian frequency of light, infer- red but not heat. I have never been an ordanace specialist, nor do I understand how a heat seeking missle could lock on. Many questions.

 

Two kinds of infrared guidance: heat speaking, a la Sidewinder, and Imaging Infra Red also know as thermal imaging.
Missiles such as the Javelin and some models of the Maverick have a thermal camera in the guidance unit. The shooter locks that image into the missile's "memory" and then launches the missile at the target. Theoretically the missile then homes in on the image in its eye/brain. This guidance also is used on some extended range weapons such as the GBU-15 and SLAM-ER, where the visual data is transmitted back to the launch aircraft by data link and is not actually locked onto the target until it becomes visible and identifible to the WSO who is responsible for targeting the weapon.

But yes, I am curious as to how the latest Sidewinder, the X, was able to seek out a fairly cold target in a very cold environment. I imagine that the balloon's envelope might have absorbed some solar heat to make it stand out from the sub zero air, but enough to lock onto? Whatever they did, it worked. 

Still, the balloon gas was pretty much at the same temp as the surrounding air, so very low IR signature.  The solar panels probably had a higher IR signature, due to the sun reflecting off of them.

The missile strike appeared to occur at the base of the balloon, and from what I could see the payload seemed to disintegrate upon being hit, and there were a LOT of little fragments.  I wonder if more intact pieces would have resulted if an inert Sidewinder was fired at the balloon?  Oh but yeah, then we would have had a 188 lb missile falling somewhere.

   Thanks for clarifying Eagle, as stated I'm not an ordanance specialist, thought maybe the military had some newer tech. I should have known that infer-red is " heat" . I was thinking more along the lines of light wave length.

armornut

You are welcome Fox. Eaglecash I also heard that the sidewinder used, locked onto the balloon because it was emitting a certian frequency of light, infer- red but not heat. I have never been an ordanace specialist, nor do I understand how a heat seeking missle could lock on. Many questions.

 

Infrared is heat.  

You are welcome Fox. Eaglecash I also heard that the sidewinder used, locked onto the balloon because it was emitting a certian frequency of light, infer- red but not heat. I have never been an ordanace specialist, nor do I understand how a heat seeking missle could lock on. Many questions.

Thanks armornut, I didn't know that.

My old brain can't retain all those 5 & 6 figure numbers any more. 

Stay Safe.

Jim 

I had a grumpy day and there are some funny comments here, thanks guys.

This one made me laugh out loud:

castelnuovo

Will the pilot have a sign of a baloon [sic] painted on his aircraft?

Eaglecash867

 

 

ikar01

I expect that someone will try to sell what they claim are parts of the balloon material on ebay before too long.

 

 

Yup...and if you read the fine print, it will say "Ships from China", so they're technically telling the truth.  Its balloon material, just not from that balloon.  

 

I may have to look into this. 

Sounds more successful than my business of shoving Baby Ruth candy bars into sandwich bags and selling them as Satchquatch poop.... 

Thanks guys, I haven't been following the story. I was wondering why you needed a jet fighter and a missile to shoot down a balloon. 

So this thing was more like a weather balloon? 

I'm also a little puzzled as to how an AIM-9X locks onto and kills something that doesn't have a heat signature.

There is a lot that we, the public, still don't know (and probably never will).  Some things don't add up.  A balloon can actually fly a lot higher than 65K feet, case in point that guy who sky dived from over 120K feet in that Red Bull stunt.  And how does (can) a balloon course correct?  I'm waiting for a South Park episode to parody this incident.

I wonder if the USAF is considering designing a small gun pod for the U-2s to carry for future pest control?  But U-2s can get up to "only" 70K feet or so, and balloons can go much higher.

All I know for sure is that somwhere, someone is makng a model of the balloon.  And maybe a gun pod-equipped U-2.  

    From what I understand Fox, the balloon was above the service ceiling of the aircraft dispatched to ....dispatch the balloon. It was up around 65,000ft.

Question for anyone interested. Why blow it up and destroy the "package" when a few gun rounds would make it leak and slowly come down with the package intact. It might be a little broken up but that's a lot better than spreading the pieces over miles. Would be able to figure out what was in it easier. 

Enquiring minds would like to know.

Stay Safe.

Jim 

  Perhaps instead of a spy rig it was a test run for direct deliveries of models from China. Might actually be faster than conventional shipping routes.

ikar01

I expect that someone will try to sell what they claim are parts of the balloon material on ebay before too long.

Yup...and if you read the fine print, it will say "Ships from China", so they're technically telling the truth.  Its balloon material, just not from that balloon.  

Will the pilot have a sign of a baloon painted on his aircraft? Did he/she do a victory roll or buzz the tower?

Can you imagine the conversation in a bar, something like this

Pilot: Hey babe, I shot down an enemy aircraft

Babe: woooow, soooo cooool. What was it?

Pilot: a baloon

Babe: oh....

Well, it was a rather large balloon.

I expect that someone will try to sell what they claim are parts of the balloon material on ebay before too long.

That thing could have been take out by a F-15 while it was over Alaska.  A quick burst with a gun is cheaper than using a missile.

I think people are making a mountain out of a balloon.

You know, all this hub-bub over this incident could easily blow up into "Balloongate"!  

I will be expecting a number of in-flight dioramas to be appearing on the horizon.  

Would that be an 'inflated' or 'deflated' variant?

Make an interesting diora!

Not to mention the first to print decals for the F-22!  I wonder if the pilot is proud of his accomplishment, or is he busy trasferring out of his unit?

Maybe next time they should fashion some kind of balloon trap using all that illegal drift netting that gets picked up every year.