Yesterday we reported on how the Pentagon confirmed that a mysterious object floating over the United States was a Chinese surveillance balloon. Today, there is growing concern that the balloon had less to do with spying on American soil and more to do with China testing an EMP-style attack on our country.
In a 2015 report for the American Leadership & Policy Foundation, Air Force Maj. David Stuckenberg, one of the nation’s leading EMP experts, wrote extensively about the threat balloons carrying bombs pose to national security.
“Using a balloon as a WMD/WME platform could provide adversaries with a pallet of altitudes and payload options to maximize offensive effects against the U.S.,” he wrote in the report.
“A high-altitude balloon could be designed, created, and launched in a matter of months. There is nothing to prevent several hundred pounds of weapons material from being delivered to altitude,” he added. “Not since WWII has North America faced a threat of this nature. Project FuGo in Japan used balloons to float bombs on the trade winds across the Pacific to the U.S. and Canada,” he said.
The news comes as a high-level four-star U.S. Air Force General warns that war with China is coming by 2025 and the World Health Organization is telling governments to to stockpile Radiological Meds in the event of a nuclear emergency!
As we have been warning and reporting for years, the United States is incredibly vulnerable to an EMP attack. In 2017, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee, said, “We have very real risks to Russia and China in space, and warfighting has become absolutely dependent on space,” he added.
While much of the worry has been on how far China has come in developing space weapons, electromagnetic railguns, and high-power microwave weapons, EMP attacks via high-altitude balloons are probably the most effective means of transporting the nuclear material needed into our country since they are tough to detect and shooting them down could trigger the EMP.
Prepare for six months without electricity!
As we’ve been warning about for years, should China or any of our adversaries decide to launch an EMP-style attack, the resulting chaos would likely bring our country to its knees. In fact, in 2018, a report from the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council – a report ignored by the mainstream media – DHS urged the public to prepare for up to six months without electricity, transportation, fuel, money, and healthcare.
The report, titled Surviving a Catastrophic Power Outage”, warned that an attack would likely come with little to no notice and could cause complete chaos for at least half a year, “Long-duration, lasting several weeks to months (at least two months, but more likely six months or more) due to physical destruction to equipment, such as transformers or transmission lines; or the severity of the event resulting in the limited workforce to repair damage or inability to create or transport replacement parts,”
In a prior report from the Air Force’s Air University, the military warned an EMP-style attack could wipe out the United States, democracy, and the world order. They also warned that:
- Ninety-nine nuclear reactors would likely melt down without electricity to cool them.
- 4.1 million would be displaced from areas around the nuclear plants as the radioactive cloud spread.
- Military and commercial jets, such as those built by Airbus, could be degraded. “Alarmingly, aircraft designed to carry large numbers of people and sizable cargo are allowed to operate without certainty about their level of resilience.”
- Bases would be cut off, making defense and counter-attacks impossible.
- Civil unrest would start in “hours.”
- Power and GPS could go dark. “An EMP would cause instantaneous and simultaneous loss of many technologies reliant on electrical power and computer circuit boards, such as cell phones and GPS devices.”
- “Failures may include long-term loss of electrical power (due to loss of emergency generators), sewage, fresh water, banking, landlines, cellular service, vehicles.”
- Eighteen months or more are required to replace key elements of the electric grid that would be damaged or knocked out.
Peter Pry, who headed a congressional commission on EMP and reported on the potential of a balloon-launched attack. “Imagine the consequences of a balloon EMP attack that damages and destroys electronic systems at the speed of light within an EMP field with a radius of hundreds of kilometers. The Eastern Grid generates 75% of U.S. electricity and supports most of the population.” Pry also notes, “Virtually any nuke detonated anywhere over the Eastern Grid will collapse the entire Eastern Grid, not just the area within the EMP field, because of cascading failures that will ripple outward.”
A nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack is a burst of Electromagnetic radiation that occurs following the detonation of a nuclear weapon. Depending on the location of the detonation and how powerful the device is, the effects of an EMP would cause catastrophic damage to a country’s power grid and communications infrastructure.
In 1958 the U.S. government conducted the first high-altitude EMP test at the Yucca Flat Nuclear Test Site in Nevada. Then, on July 9, 1962, the U.S. government conducted the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test, detonating a 1.44-megaton nuclear bomb 240 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Moments after detonation, the EMP threat became apparent. While much of the data is still classified, it is publically known that the test caused blackouts, widespread telephone outages, and grid problems over 900 miles from the blast site. In addition, airplanes experienced electrical surges, radio blackouts spread throughout the area, and at least six satellites failed due to the Starfish Prime pulse.
How to Prepare for a long-term EMP Grid Down Crisis
In my book, The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide, I devote a lot of time to this specific topic. Unfortunately, our government has no real contingency plan to deal with problems related to our nation’s power grid. Therefore, you need to be prepared to survive an extended period of time without power, without access to food and water, and without essential services.
Start Thinking about what Emergency Supplies you cannot live without!
- Unless you have a self-contained well, chances are you will lose your ability to get fresh, clean water. In addition, most municipal water supplies need constant power to treat and pump water. So stock up on long-term food and water.
- Stock up on Emergency Flashlights, candles, and gear you would use during typical power outages.
- If you live in an urban area, check out these essential Urban Survival Tools.
- Seal electronics equipment in EMP Protection Bags.
Make sure you can support yourself and your family!
After an EMP attack, you will need a whole new set of skills to survive.
You need to be able to protect your Family from Criminals!
Security will become one of your top concerns during an EMP attack. Therefore, it would be best to start thinking about how you will protect yourself, your family, your supplies, and your home.
You need a way to generate your own power!
Solar Chargers, power generators, and portable battery backups are all things you need to invest in. Even if an EMP never hits, these tools are all valuable gear that can help during any grid-down emergency. For a minimal amount of money, you can help ensure your ability to run things like emergency radios, ham radios, tablets, flashlights, and other emergency gear.
Have a way to communicate once the grid goes down!
You will need a good communication plan when the power lines go down and the internet stops working. Having an Emergency Communication plan will allow you to send and receive critical emergency information.