Small, nonthreatening balloon intercepted over Utah by NORAD
seattletimes.com
A small, nonthreatening balloon spotted flying high over the mountainous Western United States was intercepted by a fighter jet over Utah on Friday, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
NORAD fighter pilots sent in the morning to investigate the balloon determined it was “not maneuverable” and did not present a threat to national security, spokesperson John Cornelio said. The balloon was still in the air, under close observation.
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I mean, you could just send a drone, that's probably cheaper and better for the environment. But I guess it's something interesting for a pilot to do. Gotta stay sharp.
I'm about 80% sure that they do take these things as an opportunity to practice, since they'd just be flying more scripted practice missions anyway if the balloon/cesna/UFO didn't come up.