"The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB)—is not pointing fingers yet."

But, says this story in Aviation Week — Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF — NIBBB members have been in touch with the FBI about the disappearance of a "pico" balloon belonging to them on a how-long-will-it-stay-up-there mission somewhere over Canada's Yukon Territory the other day. Says Aviation Week: 

The descriptions of all three unidentified objects shot down Feb. 10-12 match the shapes, altitudes and payloads of the small pico balloons, which can usually be purchased for $12-180 each, depending on the type.

A New York Post story — UFO shot down by $400K US missile may have been a $12 hobby balloon: report  — notes:

White House officials admitted this week that “hundreds, if not thousands” of objects in the sky — including the UFOs it shot down last week — could be as innocuous as “used car lot balloons.”

And about that $400K missile: The first one fired at the balloon over Lake Huron missed, apparently. So two.

Maybe we should start a GoFundMe to buy the Air Force a subscription to Aviation Week. Or a membership in the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade. Or even both.

We're already paying for the missiles.