Sen. Cruz Asks Biden to Explain Allegedly Authorizing $200 Million Fighter Jet to Shoot Down $12 Science Project

Sen. Ted Cruz used Twitter to criticize the president on Thursday President Joe Biden for ordering an F-22 fighter jet to shoot down what may have been a hobby club’s science project off the coast of Alaska earlier last week.

Cruz, R-Texas, joked that Biden’s decision to authorize the $200 million fighter jet to use a $400,000 missile to shoot down what may have been a $12 balloon serves as a “powerful deterrence” For high school students interested to make their own science balloons at-home.

The comment came after the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade’s (NIBBB), an Illinois-based hobbyist club, said their pico balloon that was floating off the Alaska’s west coast A Lockheed Martin aircraft that had shot down an unidentified object matching the description of its description also went missing.

“To be fair, Biden is providing is powerful deterrence for any high school science clubs that might try to invade America….” Cruz wrote on Twitter.

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A split photo showing President Biden and an F-22 Raptor. (Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“President Biden needs to tell the American people whether this is true,” Cruz also added a tweet.

The club’s globe-trotting balloon, which was last reported to be hovering at 38,910 ft. on Feb. 10, may have been one of three unidentified aerial objects the U.S. Air Force shot out of the sky via the president’s authorization between Feb. 10-12.

According to the group, its trajectory placed it directly above the Yukon Territory’s central Yukon Territory on February 11, when an object was shot from the sky.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, also stated that the objects taken down on February 10-12 were not from China or any other foreign country. “could just be balloons.”

“I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours. The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. Out of an abundance of caution and the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object. And they did. And it came in inside our territorial waters,” During Friday’s White House press conference, Kirby also added.

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The Illinois-based hobbyist club claimed the balloon on Wednesday “missing in action” However, they are not blaming the USAF.

A Chinese surveillance balloon sailed over the Continental U.S. The administration of Biden was concerned about the subsequent objects that were found floating in the country.

Brian Branch provided this photo. It shows a large balloon floating above Kingston, North Carolina. Below it is an airplane and its contrail. (Brian Branch via AP)

Pico balloon enthusiasts have suggested that these balloons could be used for educational purposes.

“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. And they’re going to look not too intelligent to be shooting them down,” Aviation Week was informed by Ron Meadows (founder of Scientific Balloon Solutions)

President Joe Biden, February 16, 2023 in the East Room at the White House (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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Tom Medlin (retired FedEx engineer, co-host of Amateur Radio Roundtable) added: “I’m guessing probably they were pico balloons.”

A weather balloon that flies over Sterling, Virginia. (Benjamin C. Tankersley/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Pico balloons are usually priced between $12 and $180. According to Aviation Week, they often carry a 11-gram tracker with HF and UHF antennas to keep them updated as they travel the globe.

The F-22 Raptor has been described as “the best air dominance fighter in the world,” It is estimated that it will cost around $200 million. According to Reuters manufacturers will need $350 million to build an F-22, after adding research and development costs.

Biden will likely ask Congress to approve the largest budget. defense budget Next month in U.S. History

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Fox News Digital reported that NORAD had spoken with the FBI and expected the NSC soon to provide more concrete information.

Bradford Betz, Fox News, contributed to this report.