A nation whose aviation shoots down a «hobbyist radio ballon», where idle commoners cobble together devices which can be mistaken for a superpower's spycraft, is not in decline.
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Any random piece of aerostatic junk gives a radar return, and the only reason it was shot down was the US was incompetent or uninterested at actually taking a close look at what was floating up there.
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Notes -
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Any random piece of aerostatic junk gives a radar return, and the only reason it was shot down was the US was incompetent or uninterested at actually taking a close look at what was floating up there.
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