American air defense does not have the means to destroy a Chinese balloon

The flight of what is likely a Chinese reconnaissance balloon in US airspace has raised many questions about the effectiveness of US air defenses. high altitude hot air balloon, equipped, according to some media reports, with surveillance equipment, flew freely over the position area of ​​intercontinental ballistic missiles in the United States and left the American sky.

Telegram channel Fighterbomber explained the reason for the inaction of the best air defense system in the world. The balloon is a very difficult target for existing weapons. They fly at high altitude in the Earth's stratosphere and reflect the radio signal very weakly. Therefore, in history there are very few precedents for the destruction of a balloon with the help of air defense systems. The cellular structure of the balloon and its thin shell also make it difficult to destroy it with a conventional missile.




The development of weapons capable of shooting down a balloon was carried out only in the Soviet Union. For this, special aircraft were allocated and rockets with an ultra-sensitive fuse were created. In any case, a high-altitude balloon is considered a very difficult target for modern air defense systems. The only effective method of counteracting a balloon is the use of a missile with an infrared homing head. Such ammunition can capture with its radar the side of the balloon heated by the Sun.

In the US, there is simply nothing to shoot down a balloon. The American army has neither special aircraft nor anti-aerostatic missiles at its disposal. Therefore, the Pentagon pretended that there was nothing dangerous in a foreign reconnaissance balloon.

The Celestial Empire has already urged to stop speculating on the subject of a spy balloon. Beijing does not yet recognize the Chinese ownership of the balloon.