Has anyone seen a better photo of the balloon?
Xi Jin Ping exercises more control over Chinese society than Stalin could have dreamed of in the Soviet Union, with the various coercive systems put into place in the last few decades.
And Chinese society is actively being sculpted using modern propaganda techniques on social media to be hyper nationalistic and hate the US/west. This is far more powerful than what Stalin ever had at his disposal.
This balloon seems like one hell of an interesting platform in its way; hope we see some really good infographics soon.
The reason we sent a U2 Spy plane of all things after it is because it’s about the only plane we have still in service that can fly all the way up to 60,000 ft where the balloon was at the time
An F-22 was used for the shoot down.
It would easily suffice to engage a balloon at FL600.
https://theaviationgeekclub.com/how-the-f-15-streak-eagle-br...
There are almost certainly much better pictures. This is just the pilot's selfie. The U-2 is built to take pictures. USAF: "The U-2 is capable of gathering a variety of imagery, including multi-spectral electro-optic, infrared, and synthetic aperture radar products which can be stored or sent to ground exploitation centers. In addition, it also supports high-resolution, broad-area synoptic coverage provided by the optical bar camera producing traditional film products which are developed and analyzed after landing. The U-2 also carries a signals intelligence payload."
I’m not a jingoistic person but even I felt a tinge of awe and American pride when I saw the photo. The U2 is cool, and this photo depicts the US as in control of the situation in a way that we didn’t feel when this thing was in the news.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident
If the Chinese say they can fly their balloons, can we fly our planes at the same altitude?
You can see one of them at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, but it's in pretty rough shape (understandably).
You'd have to have some pretty good nerves for that job.
The intel gathered from these likely helped send Nixon to China by revealing the Sino-Soviet tensions due to the military buildup at the border.
Later on, the famous Chuck Yeager was the US military representative in Pakistan.
Additionally, flying high requires flying fast, generally.
The U2's huge wingspan allows it to fly much slower at these altitudes, and with much more ease and efficiency than say, an F-15 or F-22 as some other commenters have suggested being capable of shadowing the balloon at FL600+.
I would think that the U2 internal cameras were designed for a long focal length and for objects below the aircraft. I wonder if they made modifications for balloon photos.
> When the U.S. government learned of Powers's disappearance over the Soviet Union, they lied that a "weather plane" had strayed off course after its pilot had "difficulties with his oxygen equipment". What CIA officials did not realize was that the plane crashed almost fully intact and that the Soviets had recovered its pilot and the plane's equipment, including its top-secret high-altitude camera.