‘Chinese spy balloon’ shot over Alaska last week may have belonged to US amateur ballooning group

A “Chinese spy balloon” shot over Alaska last week may have belonged to a US amateur ballooning group, it has emerged.

Joe Biden may have ordered the US Air Force to shoot down a hobbyist group’s radio ‘pico balloon’ by mistake, it has emerged.

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade say their 32-inch balloons went “missing in action” on February 11.

A group member said they’re ‘not angry at all’ and would rather lose a $100 balloon than ‘have something bad go over’ the country.

“We acted out of an abundance of caution,” Biden explained.

A US fighter jet shot down the unidentified object flying 40,000ft over Alaska after Pentagon officials said it “posed a reasonable threat.

Authorities were on alert and had been tracking the object, which officials had been tracking for more than 24 hours.

An F-22 aircraft shot it down with a Sidewinder missile after it entered Alaskan airspace, with its remains scattering across the frozen sea.