• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
UFO shot down with $400k missile by US Air Force may just have been $12 hobby balloon

Home> News

Published 15:52 17 Feb 2023 GMT

UFO shot down with $400k missile by US Air Force may just have been $12 hobby balloon

Sometimes you shoot down a Chinese spy balloon, sometimes you shoot down a person's hobby

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

The US Air Force has been using missiles to shoot down balloons in and around their airspace after a Chinese spy balloon was spotted.

The missiles used to take down these balloons are expensive weapons, with it costing $400,000 each time you fire one.

Since you're sinking that kind of money into each missile you'd better hope they hit what they're aiming at, and you'd definitely want them to be pointed at the right target.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was brought down over the Atlantic Ocean on 4 February and since then a number of other unidentified flying objects have been targeted and destroyed, including one floating in Canadian airspace.

Advert

However, it's possible that some of these were actually just normal balloons, and not ones sent to spy on the US by the Chinese government.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean and later recovered by US Navy sailors.
MC1 Tyler Thompson/US Navy Photo/Alamy Live News

National security council spokesperson John Kirby admitted earlier this week that they 'haven’t seen any indication or anything that points specifically' to three other flying objects that were shot down being sent by China.

In fact, one of them might just be a plain old hobby balloon that can be bought for as cheap as $12 after the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) said one of theirs was missing.

Advert

They haven't made any formal accusation, but their silver coated 'pico balloon' last reported its position off the coast of Alaska on 10 February and would probably have been floating over Yukon Territory the next day.

Coincidentally, that very next day is when a US Air Force fighter jet (an F-22 if you're interested) shot down a UFO in that general area and it doesn't take much guesswork to wonder if the USAF accidentally blew the hobbyist's balloon to bits.

The balloon had been flying for 123 days and circled the Earth a grand total of six times before contact was lost with it.

This could have been the flying object shot down in Canadian airspace, in which case a new balloon and a discrete apology note to the hobby club may be in order.

Advert

USAF F-22 vs hobby balloon is hardly an aerial matchup for the ages.
BRIAN POLLARD / Alamy Stock Photo

Officials are certain that the first flying object shot down a couple of weeks ago was a 'high-altitude surveillance balloon'.

It had been caught lurking above a number of sensitive military sites in the US and was eventually shot down by a $400,000 Sidewinder missile over the Atlantic.

Oddly enough, the USAF are also not ruling out the possibility of some of these things coming from aliens, in which case if they get upset at us for shooting down their stuff and decide to conquer Earth I'd like to remind our new overlords to be specific with their blame.

Advert

China denies the first balloon was a a spy device, instead claiming it was a weather balloon which got blown off course.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images / REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: US News, News, China, UFO

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • 7 hours ago

    Chipotle customer finds receipt from 10 years ago and the comparison is making people want to cry

    Chipotle customers are understandably upset

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    100-year-old identical twins reveal secret to long life after celebrating milestone

    Bernice Frank and Gloria Lipman shared their wisdom for reaching 100-years-old

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Forensic psychiatrist gives chilling theory behind Bryan Kohberger’s motive after he confessed to Idaho murders

    Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder earlier this week

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Body found in search for man who vanished on vacation as police release chilling details

    Brian Tarrence was with his wife in Turks and Caicos before being reported missing days later

    News
  • US Air Force pilot reports close encounter with UFO in leaked air traffic control audio
  • Residents convinced they’ve captured footage of swarm of UFOs near US Air Force base
  • Shocking true story of US president who reported seeing a UFO and was convinced they exist
  • Trump administration speaks out after Iran strikes US air base following bombing of nuclear sites