A Puzzle Within An Unblinking Enigma ... We .. Just .. Don't .. Know!

"A high-altitude balloon doesn’t do much that a small satellite in low-Earth orbit can’t do — and the satellite has the benefit of being practically invisible to the naked eye. It’s not even clear that a spy balloon is more cost-effective than a cluster of small satellites."

"Balloons have been used for surveillance systems since the French deployed them to spy on Austrian and Dutch troops in 1794. Yet the advent of aircraft, then satellites rendered balloons obsolete for most military and intelligence applications. After all, an airplane is more maneuverable. A satellite is so high in the sky that it’s impervious to most countermeasures".

"While the United States military can still tether static, low-altitude balloons over its frontline outposts, satellites and manned and unmanned spy planes handle most strategic intelligence gathering."

"So why did China send free-floating balloons to spy on the United States — at least three times during the administration of Donald Trump and, it seems, twice during President Biden’s term?"

David Axe, staff writer at Forbes, nonfiction author, graphic novelist and filmmaker

Chad Fish, via Associated Press

"It is irresponsible, [The latest accusations] may be part of the U.S. side's information warfare against China."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning

The United States, on the other hand states imagery of the balloon collected by American U-2 spy planes while the balloon crossed the United States, showed it to be "capable of conducting signals intelligence collection" with multiple antennae along with related equipment designed for the uploading of sensitive information and included solar panels to power the equipment.

Details were provided by the State Department anonymously, reflecting the sensitive nature of the issue. An analysis of the balloon debris, according to unnamed officials, held it to be "inconsistent" with the Chinese explanation of a weather balloon blown by circumstances beyond human control, off course. It just seemed exceedingly strange that this non-sentient device chose to float languidly over sensitive military sites strictly by chance.

The other countries targeted by these stray balloons with minds of their own are being contacted by American authorities for joint discussions on the scope of the Chinese surveillance program while pursuing possible strategies that "supported the balloon's incursion into U.S. airspace". There is confidence, reported the official, that the balloon manufacturer enjoys "a direct relationship with China's military and is an approved vendor of" the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The shooting down of the balloon was itself quite an enterprise. Measuring about 60 metres in height, the balloon was brought down by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor that fired an air-to-air missile. A few high-calibre bullets might conceivably have been successful in destroying the balloon if it wasn't floating at an altitude outside the range of many U.S. fighter aircraft.

That very height, where the F-22 had to fly to 58,000 feet, representing the outer edge of its operational flight ceiling before it was enabled to close the remaining distance with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile was done at a cost of $400,000 for the missile. The shootdown video shows the missile's explosion adjacent the balloon, which then disintegrated, its pieces falling far below into the Atlantic.

The investigators so far have brought several parts of the balloon to the FBI's Quantico, Virginia lab for investigation. "A very small amount of electronics", along with parts of the balloon canopy, and wiring are being studied, but according to the official it was "very early for us to assess what the intent was and how the device was operating".