Military balloon par for the course in Taupo

A weather bomb of sorts has plummeted out of the sky on to Taupo Golf Course – courtesy of Exercise Thunder Warrior and the Singapore Armed Forces.

The mess of latex and string found on a Taupo golf course last week is most likely to be a weather balloon and instruments used by the Singaporean Armed Forces in Waiouru.

Retired Air New Zealand purser Vic Stone found the weather balloon on the golf course’s seventh tee last Friday. NIWA told him it wasn’t theirs, and that it probably belonged to the Waiouru military base 110 kilometres away.

Inquiries to the New Zealand Defence Force revealed the balloon was likely to have come from “Exercise Thunder Warrior” – described by a spokesperson as an annual field training exercise conducted by an artillery battalion from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

“The exercise is hosted by the NZDF at Waiouru Military Camp and provides the SAF with an area to conduct live firing activities,” a NZDF spokesperson said in an email response.

“Weather balloons are often used during this type of activity to predict the weather effect on the accuracy of artillery by measuring temperature, wind speed, direction and pressure.”

Stone said the balloon consisted of a large latex balloon, a net made from strong fibreglass string, and a plastic box that weighed 250 grams which had a triple-A battery inside.

“I’ve since learned a piece like this climbs to 100,000 feet [30.5 kilometres],” he said.

“If it came down on your head when you’re out there, it wouldn’t be ideal.”