Jim Ross Lightfoot

Balloon and buffoon. The two words rhyme, and it seems we have plenty of both floating around today.

After watching the news coverage regarding shooting down balloons floating over our country, I couldn’t help but flip on the laptop and jot this down.

There is much discussion concerning whether the Chinese balloon should have been shot down before it ever moved over the continental United States. The argument supporting that line of thought is the balloon, and its attached spy gear, was capable of photographing and probing sensitive military installations.

It was obvious from the beginning that this was not a free air balloon, following the natural air currents. The balloon was steered to specific spots, primarily our nuclear bases in Montana, down over Whiteman Air Force Base, home of the B-2 Spirit bomber, and then on to South Carolina. As I’m sure you are aware, it was finally shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.

President Joe Biden said he ordered the balloon shot down, but not until it was over open water for the purposes of protecting people on the ground.

Two arguments surround Biden’s decision, one being that the balloon should have been shot down long before it ever came over U.S. soil. We were tracking it since it left China, so bringing it down over open water would not have been a problem.

The second position is that of the president. His school of thought is based on not having parts of the balloon fall on and injuring people on the ground. The payload was described as the size of a bus. There is no doubt an object of that dimension would do tremendous damage should it land in any kind of populated area.

We should have exercised option one, and taken this thing down before it ever had the opportunity to come over the top of our country. I’m sure there are those who disagree with that position. However, my point is not to be debated here, but to point out there are two very opposing viewpoints as to what should’ve happened with the balloon. You folks can settle this debate at the local coffee shop.

The big balloon was not the only one shot down. Smaller balloons, perhaps privately owned or used for weather observation, also were taken down.

Sidewinder missiles, costing between $400,000 and $500,000, were used in the shootdowns. In one case, the first missile fired missed the target, and a second one was necessary to complete the mission.

The F-16 Falcon fighter jet used for the shootdown mission is equipped with one M-61A1 20mm multi-barrel cannon. The 500 rounds of ammunition on board costs $14.41-$23.48 per round depending on the type of ammo being used.

Maybe there is something in my drinking water, but it seems to me a half dozen or so rounds at $24 apiece would’ve been a whole lot smarter than firing a half-million-dollar rocket. I forgot to mention it costs $8,000 per hour to operate an F-16.

Maybe it’s just the farm boy in me, but $120 bucks compared to $500,000 just seems to make sense. Of course, the aircraft and ammunition are being paid for with your tax dollars, so I guess it really doesn’t matter how much it costs.

One final thought: If you’re going to bring a balloon down, isn’t the primary goal to punch holes in it, so it will deflate? And is it necessary to destroy the entire balloon envelope? In fact, shooting a few holes in the balloon with a 20 mm cannon would let the balloon descend at a much slower speed than when you destroy the entire balloon envelope and let the payload free fall.

If the payload strikes the ground at a reduced speed due to the drag from a punctured balloon envelope, the damage to it will be minimized. Having the payload in one piece offers a much better opportunity to examine and discover what the balloon’s mission was.

Balloons and buffoons. Yep, we have a pickup load floating around in Washington, D.C.