ANYONE ORDER CHINESE?

That it was a surveillance rig, I have no doubt. And the data it was collecting is already gone, also no doubt.

Big question: Why would China do this?

The whole thing about it being a weather balloon that got away is just the kind of thing China would say. They did apologize, which is different for them, and right there we need to be suspicious of their intent.

It was a spy craft. They followed the prevailing winds to make it look like a plausible accident, but this thing was maneuverable and coincidentally tracked overhead of a couple of sensitive military bases. It also transmitted all it needed to before it was shot out of the sky by an American F-22

They used a balloon because who would use a balloon? If it was destroyed, who’s going to get all fired-up over such a primitive piece of air delivery?

Pretty audacious, but they pulled it off. What their purpose may have been specifically, I don’t know, but whatever it was, it didn’t cost much. It probably cost way more to shoot it down