--- title: "Group of Dudes Fear the Pentagon May Have Shot Down Their Balloon" description: "NIBBB hasn't officially pointed fingers, but the broader ballooning community seems convinced that the Pentagon is to blame for the missing pico balloon." date: "2023-02-17" modified: "2023-02-17" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/group-of-dudes-pentagon-may-have-shot-down-balloon" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "Balloons" - "military" - "the digest" - "ufos" --- # Group of Dudes Fear the Pentagon May Have Shot Down Their Balloon ![NIBBB hasn't officially pointed fingers, but the broader ballooning community seems convinced that the Pentagon is to blame for the missing pico balloon.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Knights Who Say NIBBB Pour one out for the men of the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB), a hobbyist ballooning group that flies and tracks relatively small and inexpensive "pico" balloons for fun. As [*Aviation Week* reports](), one of their balloons is "[missing in action]()." And while they haven't officially pointed any fingers, members of the broader ballooning community seem pretty convinced that the Pentagon is to blame. And honestly, the evidence is pretty compelling. Per *Aviation Week*, the missing silver balloon's last known location, reported back on Feb 10, was just off of Alaska's west coast. Using a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasting tool called HYSPLIT, the balloonists were able to determine that their absent inflatable would have been hovering around central Yukon Territory on Feb 11 — the same day, *Aviation Week* notes, that the US military fighter jet shot down a similar object, at a similar altitude, in the same general area. Circumstantial? Sure. But intriguing nonetheless, especially considering that [two other objects](), also fitting the description of pico balloons, were blown out of the sky on Feb 10 and Feb 12, respectively. And given how much of the Pentagon's time, money, and artillery — specifically, [powerful and expensive sidewinder missiles]() — were put into downing these mystery objects, it would be a pretty terrible look for the US government if said objects were indeed just a few of these amateur inflatables. "I tried contacting our military and the FBI — and just got the runaround — to try to enlighten them on what a lot of these things probably are," Ron Meadows, founder of Silicon Valley balloon-making firm Scientific Balloon Solutions (SBS) and ballooning expert, told *Aviation Week*. "They're going to look not too intelligent," Meadows added, "to be shooting them down." ## Justice for NIBBB As for the White House? Per *The Washington Post*, POTUS and co are [still keeping things relatively close to the vest](). "Our intelligence community is still assessing all three incidents," said President Joe Biden, adding that "the intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research." Hmmm. In any case, to our friends at NIBBB: our thoughts are with you. None of your balloons deserved to be — allegedly — smashed to smithereens by a sidewinder. Fly on, boys. Fly on. **READ MORE:** [*Hobby Club's Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF*]() \[*Aviation Week*\] **More on balloons:** [*China Wants the Corpse of Its Balloon Back after the US Killed It with a Missile*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()