Object shot down by Air Force in Canada with $400,000 missile may have been a $12 hobby balloon

02/24/2023 / By Arsenio Toledo

The United States Air Force recently shot down an unidentified object in Canadian airspace using a $400,000 missile. This object may have just been a $12 balloon released by a balloon hobby group.

According to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, one of its pico balloons went missing as it was flying north. A pico balloon is a small balloon used for measuring temperature, pressure and humidity. (Related: US fighter jet takes down THIRD high-altitude airborne object in Canada.)

There is very strong evidence to suggest that the hobby group’s balloon is the object shot down by an Air Force F-22 fighter jet with a Sidewinder missile on Feb. 11 over the Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada.

The Bottlecap Balloon Brigade reported that its pico balloon, with the designation K9YO, went “missing in action” on Feb. 15. Its position was last recorded five days earlier hovering at an altitude close to 40,000 feet off the coast of Alaska. A forecast projected that the balloon would have been in the same approximate area and altitude as the unidentified object shot down by the Air Force in the Yukon.

According to the brigade’s website, the hydrogen-filled balloons have GPS tracking and antennas and can soar to heights of up to 47,000 feet. Some can even circle the Earth several times before running out of steam.

In one blog post, the group confirmed that K9YO is a silver mylar, 32-inch sphere balloon that looks very similar to a party balloon. K9YO and other pico balloons like it cost about $12.

Rocket and balloon tracker Ian Kluft noted in a short Twitter thread that, along with the possibility of being shot down by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Feb. 11 over the Yukon territory, it is also possible that the balloon burst, inclement weather could have brought it down or it simply ran out of power and is unable to transmit data.

Pentagon refuses to confirm if it did shoot down hobbyist balloon

According to U.S. National Security Council Coordinate for Strategic Communications John Kirby, the administration of President Joe Biden is aware of the situation in the Yukon. However, the Department of Defense still refuses to confirm if it used a $400,000 missile to shoot down a $12 balloon.

Furthermore, while Biden has confirmed that the first balloon discovered floating across the U.S. was indeed a Chinese spy balloon, he noted that there is currently no evidence to suggest that the other objects shot down were similar kinds of balloons.

“The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions,” he said on Feb. 16.

Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is still conducting a search for the remnants of the object shot down in Canadian airspace. The Pentagon noted that it was “absolutely important” to recover the remains. Unfortunately, search efforts are being hampered by harsh weather and the Yukon Territory’s rough mountainous terrain.

Learn more about actual threats to American national security at NationalSecurity.news.

Watch this episode of “The American Journal” on InfoWars as host Harrison Smith talks about how the Pentagon shot down a $12 hobbyist balloon faster than it shot down an actual Chinese spy balloon.

This video is from the channel The Resistance 1776 on Brighteon.com.