US shot down hobbyists’ balloon worth $12 using missile costing $439,000?
Not a Chinese spy balloon but a hobbyists’ balloon worth $12?
Breaking the balloon of hysteria created around Chinese spy devices flying over the United States, a hobby group in Illinois has claimed that probably it was just a $12 inflatable launched by them.
If the reports are to be believed, the United States Air Force (USAF) used a missile worth $439,000 to shoot down the flying balloon which was just a $12 hobby balloon and not the suspected Chinese spy device.
Northern Illinois Balloon Brigade, a hobbyist group in the US, has reportedly claimed that on February 11, one of its pico balloons went “missing in action” in Alaska, coincidentally when the suspected balloon was shot down by the USAF F-22 fighter jet using a Sidewinder missile, costing $400,000, in the vicinity of Yukon territory in Canada.
ALSO READ | US President Biden to talk to China's Xi in wake of balloon controversy
A pico balloon has trackers installed in it for measuring humidity, temperature, pressure or wind currents.
NIBBB said that the last location reported by their 'K9YO' balloon was near the coast of southwest Alaska at around 1 am GMT on Saturday (February 11)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
National Handloom Day 2026: From Alia Bhatt to Samantha Ruth Prabhu; Actresses who celebrated India's textile heritage as brides
)
The Royals enter the Doctor Who universe: King Charles and Queen Camilla beam into Commonwealth Games in TARDIS
)
Unitree Robotics targets $9 billion valuation in landmark IPO backed by DeepSeek and Tencent
)
India names 27 sites in Arunachal Pradesh
)
Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata OTT: When will Kangana Ranaut's film stream online?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How many soldiers operate one S-400 battery?
)
Shakib Al Hasan ready to return to Bangladesh—under one condition
)
‘Fake news’: MEA rejects report claiming India sought defence pact with Israel after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey deal
)
Rockstar to unveil GTA 6 extended look ahead of November launch
)
Russia forms Ukrainian Volunteer Spetsnaz Brigade to fight Ukraine
)
Drug-resistant fungus that hides in hair and enters bloodstream reported in 23 US states
)
Technology transfer deal boosts India's defence manufacturing ambitions
)
Border row erupts in Europe after Ceuta crossings, Spain imposes border controls on Italy
)
Morale plummets on USS Abraham Lincoln: Are US sailors reaching a breaking point? | GRAVITAS
)
'Security can't be bought with Pakistan, Turkey deal': Iran tells Saudi Arabia
)
Baba Vanga's 2026 prophecy: 2 predictions 'already came true', 3 terrifying ones remain. Details inside
)
Colombia’s new president Abelardo de la Espriella vows to ‘defeat narco-terrorists’, signals hardline shift
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
New Friday OTT releases (August 7, 2026): Operation Safed Sagar, Vadhandhi, Main Vaapis Aaunga- 6 movies and TV shows on Netflix, Prime Video and more
)
Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth scripts history as Indian Air Force gets its first woman ‘Top Gun’ pilot
)
RSS says Gen Z protests reflect genuine distress
)
Trump says Iranian school bombing photos could be AI-generated - 'I don’t think...'
)
IAF officer held for sharing sensitive information in 'honey trap' case, booked under Official Secrets Act
)
Stray Kids under scrutiny? Fans react to Grammy submission silence after BTS boycott
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI doesn't need external fuel tanks to fly vast distances
)
Jugal Hansraj reunites with Shekhar Kapur after 40 years for Masoom: The Next Generation
)
New speed limits, automatic challans: Big traffic change coming to Delhi-Meerut Expressway. All you need to know
)
India officially names 27 places in Arunachal to counter China's renaming claims
)
Trump calls White House ballroom ruling a 'national disgrace' as court says Congress approval needed
)
US sanctions Iran’s crypto network after Strait of Hormuz attacks, offers $15m bounty for intel on IRGC finance
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI is one of the heaviest fighters ever built
)
Uttarakhand young innovator builds India's own flying vehicle, conducts first test flight: WATCH
)
Chilling video shows students take cover as teen opens fire at Thai school
)
Reese Witherspoon's father hospitalised after poolside incident in Nashville: Report
US ends search for debris of downed Chinese balloon
Meanwhile, the search for debris of the alleged Chinese surveillance balloon, which was shot down earlier, along with the two unidentified objects which were downed on Lake Huron and near Alaska was ended by the United States, said the military's Northern Command on Friday.
"Recovery operations concluded February 16 off the coast of South Carolina, after US Navy assets assigned to US Northern Command successfully located and retrieved debris from the high-altitude PRC surveillance balloon," NORTHCOM's statement read, as it referred to China.
WATCH | This World | Is China sending spy balloons to India?
"Final pieces of debris are being transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia for counterintelligence exploitation," it added.
(With inputs from agencies)
You cannow write for wionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE