The Balloon

[Thumpalumpacus]

Wonder why they choose to use a million dollar missile to shoot down a ballon when one 50cal round would possibly make the payload fall slower with a drone parachute effect from the deflating/deflated ballon?

One .50 cal is not going to take it down before it gets back to China, I bet. Aside from that, we don't have any aircraft capable of flying that high which is armed with an M2, so getting that bullet up there is going to be a trick in and of itself.

I think they're only a few hundred k - but it's probably an altitude issue/training opportunity.  The lower ones it pretty much has to be training.  Someone more familiar with the f-22 would know.

Of the four fighters in USAF inventory, the F-22 has the best high-altitude performance. It's also based at Elmendorf, putting the F-22s in an ideal spot for a quick intercept.