Russian expert: It is only possible to shoot down a reconnaissance balloon with a fighter jet
(Baonghean.vn) - An unmanned Chinese reconnaissance balloon is said to have flown over Canada and the US, making it difficult to shoot down due to its altitude; it can only be destroyed by a radar-guided missile launched from a fighter jet.
That is the opinion of expert Mikhail Faleev, former Deputy Director of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, winner of the Russian government award in the field of science and technology.
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Hot air balloon in Bristol. Photo: AP |
Earlier, a Pentagon spokesman announced that a spy balloon had been spotted in the skies over the United States. It flew from the Aleutian Islands over Canada and into Montana. The balloon's movements were tracked by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The US military determined that the balloon belonged to China. The US military did not shoot it down because of concerns about the risk of it falling into a densely populated area.
"First of all, it flies much higher than the altitude at which aircraft fly, including fighter jets. This is a probe, as they call it. It flies higher than the altitude of aircraft, so aircraft cannot approach it, cannot observe it and cannot shoot it down. It is necessary to launch missiles, which is not easy," Faleev said. He noted that this probe cannot simply be shot down due to the lack of thermal radiation.
"There are several methods they (the Americans) can use. An aircraft flies up and from a certain altitude, for example from 22 km, the altitude that fighters can reach, launches a radar-guided missile," Faleev stressed.
The US currently possesses a number of air defense missile systems. One of them is the Patriot air defense system - depending on the version and level, it can hit targets at altitudes of up to 24 km./.
