One of the aircraft shot down by the US Air Force may have been a “hobby balloon”, claims a report from Aviation Week. according to The New York Post newspaper.
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBB), a group of balloon enthusiasts, fears that one of their closely monitored balloons may be the object shot down by the US military over Canada on Sunday.
Disappeared from the radar
NIBB cannot state with certainty that it is their balloon that has been shot down, but says that the balloon was equipped with a small GPS transmitter and an antenna, which allowed the enthusiasts to follow the journey.
On Friday last week, they lost contact with the balloon, and made a projection of where the aircraft would soar next.
By Saturday, the balloon would probably have been over central parts of the Yukon area at about the same time that a military fighter jet shot down an unidentified object with a similar description and altitude.
SHOT DOWN: The photo shows an F22 fighter jet and the suspected Chinese spy balloon hovering over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. Photo: Chad Fish/AP
The US Air Force has used Sidewinder missiles with a price tag of US$400,000 to shoot down the unidentified objects. The price of a balloon similar to the one NIBB is missing is between 12 and 180 US dollars.
Ron Meadows, founder of Scientific Balloon Solutions (SBS), which makes such balloons, tells Aviation Week that he has tried to contact both the US military and the FBI.
– I was only rejected when I tried to tell them what many of these things probably were. And that they wouldn’t look very smart if they started shooting them down, says Meadows.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is the only official source that has wished to comment on the allegations to Aviation Week.
– I have no update for you from NORAD regarding these objects, says a spokesman.
Won’t apologize
President Joe Biden spoke during a press conference on Thursday evening about the last three balloons that were shot down in North American airspace over the weekend.
According to him, they still do not know what the objects were, but that nothing indicates that it is Chinese spy equipment.
It is probably about balloons belonging to private individuals, commercial players or research organisations, Biden said.
Earlier this month, an actual Chinese spy balloon was shot down over the US East Coast. This has led to a knot in the diplomatic thread with China.
PICKED UP THE WRECK: The Chinese balloon was picked up by divers from the US Navy, and is said to have been in size Photo: US NAVY PHOTO
China initially admitted it was their balloon. They then said it was only a research balloon and accused the US of “overreacting” by shooting it down.
– I don’t want to apologize for taking down that balloon, says Joe Biden, as he confirms that he will soon speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked for the wreckage to be returned, emphasizing that “the balloon does not belong to the United States”.
