Old news by now but I still can't understand why any Air Force officer on the ground or in the air would try to use a $400K heat-seeking missile on a balloon.

Balloons don't have hot jet exhausts. Even hot air balloons -- and this wasn't one -- are scarcely warmer than their surroundings.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/f16-missed-first-shot-lake-huron-ufo-1234679415/