Yes, it appears that U.S. fighter jets destroyed a cheap-ass inflatable balloon sent up by a nerdy hobby group.
The balloon shot down probably cost the group about $12-$13 while the missile used to knock it out was a $400k Sidewinder.
On top of that, reports say the first missile shot missed the stupid balloon !
Tom Medlin, a host on the Amateur Radio Roundtable show who knows all about these things talked to John & Ken and gave a fascinating description of what probably went down. Government boobs....
President Joe Biden gave a speech on Thursday about the balloons, and while it didn’t contain any new information and he refused to answer follow-up questions, he did stress that the three most recently shot down balloons were probably weather balloons.
And, yes, balloon hobbyists are indeed worried about balloons still up in the air as they approach U.S. airspace.
“I hope that in the next few days when that happens we’re not real trigger-happy and start shooting down everything,” Tom Medlin, a hobbyist who currently has three balloons up in the air told Aviation Week.
You can hope, Mr. Medlin, but it’s clear the U.S. military is going to shoot first and ask questions later at this point. You don’t want President Biden to look weak on China. Or party balloons.