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The US uses a $400,000 rocket to launch a $12 balloon. Joe Biden tries to explain. The news ticker.
- UFOs over the USA: US President Joe Biden comments on unidentified flying objects in US airspace
- Multiple objects shot down: The US reports a total of four objects, including a spy balloon from China
- Balloon scandal: All news and developments in our news ticker
Update from February 17, 2023, 09:55: At least one of the four objects shot down by the United States appears to have been a balloon worth around $12. This is based on research by the news portal Aviation Week. Accordingly, the balloon is said to belong to a group of amateur scientists who call themselves the “Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade”.
According to their own statements, the group has already launched a total of 25 such balloons and is tracking their movement via GPS. Two of their balloons are said to have already circled the earth, the group writes on its website. The balloon that Joe Biden shot down with a $400,000 rocket was launched in October 2022. On Thursday, the connection to the balloon broke off.
Joe Biden comments on downed flying objects – and names assumptions by the secret services
First report from February 16, 2023: WASHINGTON DC – The United States has shot down four flying objects in the past few days, three of which were previously unclear. Now US President Joe Biden has personally commented on this to nip speculation in the bud. The three most recently shot down by the US military flying objects were most likely for research purposes, said the US President.
According to US intelligence agencies, they belonged to research institutions or private companies, according to Biden in Washington. “We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but at this point there is nothing to suggest they were linked to China’s spy balloon program,” Biden said. There is also nothing to suggest that they were traveling for espionage purposes on behalf of another country.
United States shot down four unidentified flying objects
On February 4, the US military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the sea. He had previously been observed over US soil for several days. Since late last week, the military shot down three other smaller unidentified flying objects — one over Alaska, one over Canada and one over Lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes in the northern United States on the Canadian border. Since then, there has been speculation about the origin and purpose of the flying objects. (tab/dpa)