Well, unsurprisingly, the US military knows more about this than you. Multiple planes and over a thousand rounds is not enough to bring down a much smaller bal

Well, unsurprisingly, the US military knows more about this than you. Multiple planes and over a thousand rounds is not enough to bring down a much smaller balloon[1]. Not to mention, a leaky balloon will fall slowly, making it an obstacle for regular air traffic. A single missile is faster, cheaper, easier, etc. We didn't want to bring the balloon down "eventually". We wanted to bring down the balloon precisely and immediately, once it was over water but still in US airspace. [1] https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb