After the publication of the official version on the objects shot down by Air Force fighters last week, in which it was acknowledged that they were balloons for meteorological study or recreational use, Sen. Ted Cruz charged scathingly against the Biden Administration's actions in this matter. Especially after a hobby club in Illinois indicated that the object shot down in Alaska was most likely a small balloon owned by them and declared "missing in action."
"To be fair, Biden is providing is powerful deterrence for any high school science clubs that might try to invade America…," the Republican congressman wrote sarcastically on his Twitter account. More and more voices are asking why a $400,000 missile was used to shoot down a small object costing about $12 and weighing barely six pounds. In addition to having mobilized a state-of-the-art aircraft costing around $200 million to shoot it down. Not to mention that the possible aliens or Chinese spy artifacts that were suspected at first have given way to balloons for weather research or even recreational use.
To be fair, Biden is providing is powerful deterrence for any high school science clubs that might try to invade America…. https://t.co/kk5NNMtDCE
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2023
An F-22 to shoot down a 6 lb. balloon
As reported by Aviation Week, the Northern Illinois, Bottlecap Balloon Brigade may be to blame for one of the incidents. Although the club opts for prudence, they recognize that it is a definite possibility and, the truth is that the coincidences are, to say the least, suspicious. The club's silver spike balloon reported its last position on February 10 at 38,910 feet off the west coast of Alaska, before fans lost contact with it. An official tool estimated that the cylindrical-shaped object would be hovering over the central part of the Yukon Territory on February 11. On the same day, an F-22 shot down an unidentified object of similar description and altitude in the same area.
Ron Meadows, founder of a balloon company suspected that the three UFOs could be this type of product and tried to report it, unsuccessfully, to the authorities. "I tried to get in touch with the military and the FBI - and they gave me the runaround - to try to explain to them what a lot of this stuff probably is. And they 're going to look not too smart taking them down." Ted Cruz noted on Twitter that Biden "needs to tell Americans if this is true."
🤦♂️
President Biden needs to tell the American people whether this is true. https://t.co/XxrJwzUTwq
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2023
Concern among fans
This type of balloons, capable of reaching great heights (between 20,000 and 40,000 feet) became possible less than ten years ago. The balloons incorporate a small 11-gram tracker attached to a string, along with HF and VHF/UHF antennas to update their positions to amateur radio receivers around the world. It is not uncommon for there to be dozens of them in the air and some even have the ability to circle the globe several times before breaking down or failing for other reasons.
Although so far, objects weighing less than 6 lbs, are exempt from most FAA airspace restrictions. In addition, hobbyists are concerned about the attention drawn by some members of Congress and the White House, who consider any object between 20,000 and 40,000 feet to be a hazard to air traffic,. The president himself said at his press conference to explain the shooting down of the three UFOs last week that he ordered the attack after finding that"they posed a danger to air traffic".
