An unidentified flying object (UFO) shot down by an F-22 fighter in Alaska may actually be an amateur balloon launched by a group of American enthusiasts. Last Wednesday (15) the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) announced that one of its “pico” balloons, the K9YO, has been missing since the 10th, the same day that the US Air Force (USAF) shot down an identified object in northwest Alaska.
The group's statement came on the same day that US President Joe Biden said the three objects shot down by F-16 and F-22 fighter jets last weekend “They were probably balloons linked to private companies, recreation or research institutions.” Biden stated that the intelligence community is evaluating this possibility.
According to NIBBB, the airship made its last communication on 10/02, floating at 38,9 feet off the west coast of Alaska. Using projections from the HYSPLIT model, provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric istration (NOAA), the next day the balloon would be floating high in the Yukon Territory, Canada, where an F-22 also shot down another unidentified object on the same day.
Although the hypothesis raised by Aviation Week Be it plausible, enthusiasts cannot confirm that the K9YO balloon was in fact shot down, as the wreckage of none of the UFOs has yet been recovered. Unlike the Chinese spy balloon shot down by the USAF on the 04th, the other UFO shot down in Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron they were much smaller, and were shot in regions of difficult access.
Pico balloons are about 1 meter in diameter and can expand to three times their size as they rise, until they reach an altitude where they are neutrally buoyant, being pushed by the wind current. The path of the balloons is tracked using HF/VHF/UHF radios and GPS, loaded onto a small device tied to the balloon. Some instruments like this even go around the world.
According to the US media, “descriptions of all three unidentified objects brought down on February 10 and 12 match the shapes, altitudes and payloads of the small PICO balloons, which can generally be purchased for $12 to $180 each, depending on the type.” For comparison purposes, each AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, weaponry used to shoot down UFOs, costs about $439 in fiscal 2023.
