It might be true that a mass produced balloon would be cheaper than the Sidewinder missiles being used to shoot them down currently, but that is because the mis

It might be true that a mass produced balloon would be cheaper than the Sidewinder missiles being used to shoot them down currently, but that is because the missiles are way overkill for taking out a large, slow moving, easy to detect target. A dedicated missile could be way cheaper, whereas large balloons will always be quite expensive since you have to buy the helium.