4 things to know about flying objects shot down after China's spy balloon: Biden, Blinken and UFOs
One of the balloons may have belonged to a hobbyist organization
The U.S. Department of Defense released a statement on Feb. 11 announcing that Biden authorized a U.S. fighter aircraft to work with Canada to "take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today."
Noting that "NORAD detected the object over Alaska" late evening on Feb. 10, the statement asserted that "Two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska monitored the object over U.S. airspace with the assistance of Alaska Air National Guard refueling aircraft, tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object."
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, which describes itself as a group of balloon enthusiasts aged 11 years old and older interested in "Pico ballooning," posted a blog on Feb. 14 indicating that its K9YO balloon was "missing in action."
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It stated, "Pico Balloon K9YO last reported on February 11th at 00:48 zulu near Hagemeister Island after 123 days and 18 hours of flight."
Hagemeister Island is located off the shore of Bristol Bay in Alaska, suggesting that it could have been in the location where the mysterious balloon was shot down on Feb. 11.
While the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade never explicitly expressed a suspicion that the federal government shot down their balloon, other Pico ballooning enthusiasts shared concerns about such a possibility with Aviation Week.
"Pico Ballooning is a part of Amateur Radio also known as Ham Radio or Hams," the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade's website explained. "We're licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowing us to communicate to other Hams throughout the World. Pico meaning small, we send a small transmitter, with GPS tracking and antenna on a balloon filled with Hydrogen, rising to 47,000 feet, and travelling with the speed of the Jetstream."
The hobbyist organization estimates that its balloons and all the material attached to them weigh less than an ounce.
The possibility of the Biden administration shooting down a hobbyist organization's balloon invited mockery from the president's critics on social media. Donald Trump Jr. took to Twitter to proclaim that "Biden shot down some kid's science project with a $400k sidewinder missile!"
Biden shot down some kids’ science project with a 0k sidewinder missile! Btw Biden admitted in his speech today, while not acknowledging this situation directly, that the balloons they shot down were likely just being used for “research or recreation” https://t.co/84yZbFZ924
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 16, 2023
In remarks Thursday, Biden contended that "The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research."
When asked if the balloon they shot down belonged to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade at a White House press briefing Friday, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby responded, "we just can't confirm those reports."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
