Republicans mock Biden for having fighter jets potentially shoot down a $13 hobby balloon and providing a 'powerful deterrence for any high school science clubs that might try to invade America'
When the Bottlecap Balloon Brigade discovered their hobby balloon went missing the same time fighter jets were scrambled to down a mysterious object over Alaska, theories started swirling.
Was their $12 inflatable taken out by a $400,000 Sidewinder missile fired from a $143 million F-22 in a military operation ordered by President Joe Biden.
They reported their property 'missing in action' and have been in contact with the FBI, but whether their balloon was targeted is yet to be confirmed as the Pentagon tries to retrieve the debris.
Yet their involvement in the UFO hysteria of the last two weeks has led to mounting questions, and mockery of the White House.
Ted Cruz wrote on Twitter: 'To be fair, Biden is providing is powerful deterrence for any high school science clubs that might try to invade America….'
Former Republican congressman and Army reservist Peter Meijer added: 'RIP to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade’s ~$80 ham radio transmitter balloon, likely the victim of friendly fire by a $143,000,000 USAF F-22 firing a $485,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile during the Great Balloon Panic of 2023.'
NIBBB said its 'K9YO' balloon last reported its location shortly before 1am GMT on Saturday, February 11 (8pm EST on February 10), near the coast of southwest Alaska.
Later on Saturday, 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.
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.
They float around until they're damaged or brought down by bad weather. K9YO was airborne for 123 days and 18 hours before it stopped reporting its location.
In that time, it circumnavigated the globe six times.
Originally Posted by Orion
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