The U.S. military was forced to use expensive heat-seeking missiles — AIM-9X Sidewinders — to take down four unidentified objects floating high over U.S. and Canadian airspace in the past week. The cost of two of the missiles used to take down a single object over Lake Huron in upper Michigan was a staggering $400,000.
The military and Biden administration have come under criticism for using such expensive resources for the task, but the reality is that the air pressure at 40,000 feet does not allow for a balloon to be popped with bullets, even if fighter jets are flying by at hundreds of miles per hour.
Retired Air Force lieutenant general and fighter pilot David Deptula explains that “You can fill a balloon full of bullet holes, and it’s going to stay at altitude.” The Canadian Air Force learned this lesson in 1998 when they tried to bring down a giant runaway weather balloon. After firing more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition at it, the balloon survived the assault and continued on its journey over British, Norwegian, and Russian airspace before finally crashing in Finland.
The military’s ability to respond to balloons and similar craft is constrained by physics and the capabilities of current weapons, and heat-seeking missiles are one of the few effective means of bringing them down. The missiles are incredibly expensive, but they are more likely to be successful and won’t put citizens in the line of fire.
While the use of missiles may seem like a waste of resources, they are the most efficient and effective way to take down balloons and other unidentified aerial objects. With current technology, there is no other way to ensure the safety of citizens and airspace.
