This weekend, Republicans, conservatives, and others ridiculed the Biden administration’s choice to use a $400,000 missile to potentially bring down a $12 hobby balloon, with some calling it an expensive means to remove a “children’s science project.”
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade reported to Aviation Week that one of its recorded balloons disappeared on February 11 — around the same time that President Biden issued orders to shoot down a mysterious item over the Yukon area in Canada.
While the White House has not yet confirmed the Illinois club’s suspicions that their balloon was destroyed, social media users reacted negatively to the news.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted, “To be fair, Biden is providing a powerful deterrent to any high school science clubs that might try to invade America.”
“President Biden must tell the American people if this is true,” continued Cruz in a subsequent tweet.
Don Jr., the eldest son of former president Donald Trump, also weighed in, tweeting, “Biden shot down some children’s science project with a $400,000 sidewinder missile!”
The junior Trump said that Vice President Biden had stated that the three unidentified devices seized by the military following the destruction of a Chinese spy balloon were likely used for “research or recreation.”
Former Michigan Republican representative Peter Meijer dubbed the event the “Great Balloon Panic of 2023.”
“RIP to the $80 ham radio transmitter balloon of the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, 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,” he tweeted.
The Republican Party calls the balloon a “$12 hobby lobby balloon.”
In the meantime, left-leaning columnist Max Blumenthal said that Biden’s take-down instructions were intended to “prove his manhood.”
“An F-22, which costs $85,000 per hour to fly, used a $450,000 missile to shoot down a $12 hobby balloon belonging to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade so that Biden could demonstrate his manhood to [Rep.] Majorie Taylor Greene,” he wrote.
Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA stated, “Biden let a Chinese spy balloon to traverse 2,000 miles of US sky without interference. Now he pretends to be tough by rejecting a $12 scientific project from the (no joke) “Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade.”
Donald Trump Jr. tweeted, “Biden used a $400K sidewinder missile to destroy a child’s science project!”
The Brigade reported that their silver-coated, cylinder-shaped Pico Balloon reported its final position on February 10 at 38,910 feet off the west coast of Alaska.
Based on its estimated flight, the balloon would have been above the central portion of Canada’s Yukon Territory the following day, about the same time an Air Force F-22 shot down an unidentified object in the same region.
On Saturday, the group committed to building, launching, and tracking handmade balloons proclaimed its K9YO device “missing in action.”
Former Michigan Republican representative Peter Meijer dubbed the event the “Great Balloon Panic of 2023.”
The group’s balloon was equipped with a small GPS transmitter and antenna, enabling ham radio tracking.
Typically, these balloons float until they are pulled down by harsh weather or damage.
In addition to the capture on Saturday, the United States also intercepted objects over Alaska on Friday and Lake Huron on Sunday.
Ted Cruz commented on the incident through Twitter.
On Thursday, Vice President Biden finally addressed the unprecedented military action, informing the American people that there was no proof that the three unidentified flying objects were malicious.
He stated, “We do not yet know exactly what these three objects were.”
“However, nothing at this time suggests they were associated with China’s spy balloon program or were surveillance vehicles from any other nation.”
The authorities continue to attempt to recover the debris from the three recently-downed items. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced late Thursday that the hunt for the downed balloon above Lake Huron has been discontinued.
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