Biden and authorities should have consulted Tom Brady with respect to the deflation of the balloon.
KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, as well as F-22 Raptors were observed loitering in the area, along with a U.S. Navy P-8a Poseidon patrol aircraft. A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 search-and-rescue plane also flew off Wilmington. The SAR C-130 was doing the low level cruising up and down the coast.
A good write up and tracking of assets here:
It makes sense that we shot it down just off shore. It seems that a water landing won’t damage the device as much, and it’s easy to retrieve. It will be interesting to see what this thing is…
Oh, the humanity!
Moderating:
@silenus, @EastUmpqua’s comment is correct. You’re not in the Pit, or even P&E. Please remember which forum you’re in when commenting.
@EastUmpqua, please flag comments like this in future and refrain from junior modding. Thanks.
To all, a reminder that you’re in MPSIMS. Please post accordingly. Thanks.
My apologies. I have family in Montana. I didn’t know about the flag. Thanks
I understand your feelings. I have family in Montana, too.
I’m still not sure what part of this is supposed to be inconsistent with it being a weather balloon, or any other non-weather-balloon explanation that’s consistent.
As opposed to the megalopolis of Billings? and Helena? 
I’m curious what information do you think would be inconsistent with it being a weather balloon?
There’s a pilot, who after admiring the freshly painted balloon on his plane, is heading off to the o-club where he’s gonna get rather drunk while not spending a cent.
Back in the earliest days of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade they used to release the balloons at the end of the parade with a note, “reward if found” $100 in the early '30s!..that is until an enterprising barnstormer figured why wait until it lands & tried to snag it mid-air; until he almost crashed over NYC. Macy’s stopped releasing the balloons after that incident. Why didn’t the MT Militia AF try to do that with their Piper Cherokee?
They paint the roundels on the planes, so I imagine they can use the same low-vis paint to put the balloon on there.
Does a Sidewinder have an end-of-run self-destruct or does it just fall to earth with a bang? I’m guessing the latter.
Well, for instance, if it was furry, sat on the dining room floor next to the table and begged for scraps, I would think that was more consistent with it being a dog than a weather balloon. If it were about six inches long, yellow, slightly curved, and full of a white starchy material, I would think that was more consistent with it being a banana than a weather balloon. If it exploded and produced a 50-mile radius of fire and destruction, I would think that more consistent with it being a nuclear bomb than a weather balloon.
This thing looked like a weather balloon, acted like a weather balloon, and the people who launched it said it was a weather balloon. Maybe it really is a weather balloon?
Also, weather balloons are used for weather research. Spy balloons would probably have limited utility.
However, I’m more inclined to believe our intelligence agencies than a foreign adversary (unlike some people who shall remain nameless). So, although I’d like more details about the US military’s claim, I’m willing to go with surveillance balloon at this point.
You provide no analogous characteristics that would differentiate spy balloon to weather balloon. Because so you have no interest in engaging with the conversation. Good to know, moving on.
As I pointed out earlier, any active change of altitude in order to affect navigation could have demonstrated that this balloon was actively spying. Instead it just gradually descended, which is consistent with an out-of-control weather balloon.
There was a Chinese “fishing” boat stationed off the coast of Virginia for a while maybe it was calling it home. Conspiracy 101
(shared for humor only-Reddit gives no source)
Fishing for information. 
A good friend of mine was watching it happen live. I first heard about the shoot down from her Facebook feed and pictures.