Both the White House and U.S. military officials are not sure whether the military shot down a hobbyist balloon last week after the group said that one of its pico balloons went missing.
The club’s balloon traveled for 123 days and 18 hours of flight before it disappeared. “For now, we are calling Pico Balloon K9YO Missing in Action,” the club’s website stated, although it did not make any claims that the military took down the balloon amid heightened tensions with China over a suspected spy balloon that was shot down days earlier.
Other objects were shot down last weekend, including one over Lake Huron near Michigan, and another in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Only the remains of the suspected Chinese spy balloon have been recovered.
A later post from the group said that “it is not unusual for significant periods of time to elapse between received transmissions” and added: “As has been widely reported, no part of the object shot down by the U.S. Air Force jet over the Yukon Territory has been recovered. Until that happens and that object is confirmed to be an identifiable pico balloon, any assertions or claims that our balloon was involved in that incident are not supported by facts.”
Other than the Illinois group’s posts this week, other hobbyists have suspected a private balloon may have been taken down.
Speaking to the same publication, another balloon enthusiast agreed that it’s probably a pico balloon, which can cost between $12 and $150.
‘Can’t Confirm’
In a recent news conference, President Joe Biden said that the objects that were recently shot down—other than the suspected spy balloon—may have been for private or commercial use. No U.S. officials have gone on record, including anonymously, to confirm whether a hobby balloon was shot down in recent days.A spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command and NORAD told The Epoch Times on Thursday that the command has “no information ... on the objects,” adding that they believe the “FBI spoke with that hobby group” about the incident. The FBI has not immediately responded to a request for comment.
“I expect the [National Security Council] task force to have more on the potential identification of the objects,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in response to a question about whether officials could confirm the report that a hobbyist balloon was shot down.
On Friday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the White House is aware of the Illinois balloonist group’s claims. However, U.S. officials cannot confirm its accuracy because the debris from the object hasn’t been recovered and may never be, he said.
“We just can’t confirm those reports or what the remains of that balloon might actually end up being and we haven’t recovered it,” Kirby said, later adding, “Given the circumstances, in light of what happened with this spy balloon, wouldn’t that be a better outcome? If it turns out that they were in fact civilian or recreational use or weather balloon and therefore benign, which is what the intelligence community thinks, isn’t that a better outcome?”
Previously, Kirby noted that recovery of the objects shot down in Alaska and the Yukon would be hampered by severe Artic weather conditions and geographic challenges in the area. During Friday’s press conference, Kirby again noted that recovery of the Alaska object may never happen.
