Educate me, please.
It’s been reported the balloon was downed using an AIM-9x Sidewinder air to air missile.
As that missile uses passive IR technology to acquire and track the target, why use that missile instead of an AIM-120 AMRAAM?
My question is obviously based on wondering how much heat is produced by that balloon and its payload at 60k feet such that the Sidewinder could lock on and track it?
Cost aside, wouldn’t the AIM-120 have been a more logical choice, i.e., radar guided versus IR guided?