A mystery object shot down by U.S. fighter jets amid ongoing hysteria sparked by a Chinese spy balloon may have been a $12 inflatable launched by a hobby group in Illinois, The Daily Mail reports.
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) reported one of its balloons ‘missing in action’ around the same location – and at the time time – a U.S. Air Force jet downed an unidentified object near Alaska using a $400,000 Sidewinder missile. NIBBB said its ‘K9YO’ balloon last reported its location shortly before 1am GMT on Shabbos, February 11 (8pm EST on February 10), near the coast of southwest Alaska.
Later that day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared an ‘unidentified object’ was downed over Canada’s Yukon territory, several hundred miles from K9YO’s last known location. Modeling shared by NIBBB shows its balloon was headed in the direction of Yukon before it vanished – and opens up the possibility it was one of the suspicious objects down by the U.S. military.
The object shot down by a a U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jet over Mayo, Yukon, was variously described by officials in Canada and the U.S. as a ‘cylindrical’, metallic balloon with a payload. Balloons used by hobby groups like NIBBB often fit the same description. They are usually attached with a small, solar-powered payload that transmits location data back to listening posts on the ground. Typically, these payloads are no larger than a credit card.
NIBBB has not said its balloon was definitely the downed object, but an overview of the circumstantial evidence by Aviation Week leaves the possibility wide open. Far from posing a military or surveillance threat, the ‘pico balloons’ launched by hobby groups like NIBBB often do little more than relay location data – or, in some cases, information about the weather.
The scary part is our inability to identify or recover the object.
Also, why did the military need such expensive equipment to puncture a balloon?
Because they fly at very high altitudes.
Had Biden not shot it down the Republicans would be screaming at him for not protecting US sovereignty. Only Trump is allowed to let unidentified balloons fly over the US.
When informed that he might have mistakenly ordered the US Military to shoot down a $12 inflatable balloon launched by a hobby group in Illinois, President Biden told reporters: “What’s the big deal?! When I was a kid, I had a hobby of shooting down clay pigeons that were launched into the sky. This time around, I shot down an inflatable balloon instead of a clay pigeon. Big deal! I mean, if these guys can launch inflatable balloons into the sky, and call it a hobby, why can’t I shoot down their balloons, and call it a hobby?! Clay pigeons, inflatable balloons, what’s the difference, man?!
Yes he did. The main thing, though, is that Joe Biden got an A+ from his doctor and is all ready and able to run again for reelection. The media will guarantee another Biden victory. The voters in this country are so brain dead, they will overwhelmingly believe the media and reelect him.
Free clear skies maintained. Thank’s Joe.
The balloons like Joe Biden like covid is a hoax.