Posted on 03/13/2009 12:30:19 PM PDT by BGHater
The giant dirigible would use radar to closely and constantly monitor activity on the ground from 65,000 feet.
The Pentagon said Thursday that it intends to spend $400 million to develop a giant dirigible that will float 65,000 feet above the Earth for 10 years, providing unblinking and intricate radar surveillance of the vehicles, planes and even people below.
"It is absolutely revolutionary," Werner J.A. Dahm, chief scientist for the Air Force, said of the proposed unmanned airship -- describing it as a cross between a satellite and a spy plane.
The 450-foot-long craft would give the U.S. military a better understanding of an adversary's movements, habits and tactics, officials said. And the ability to constantly monitor small movements in a wide area -- the Afghanistan- Pakistan border, for example -- would dramatically improve military intelligence.
"It is constant surveillance, uninterrupted," Dahm said. "When you only have a short-time view -- whether it is a few hours or a few days -- that is not enough to put the picture together."
The project reflects a shift in Pentagon planning and spending priorities under Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has urged the military services to improve intelligence and surveillance operations while cutting high-tech weaponry costs.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Exactly.
I love dirigibles/blimps.
The thought of slowly (and silently) moving above the terrain, even for peaceful purposes, is awe-inspiring.
Yeah and you can mozy on over anywhere in only about 5 to 10 days longer than re-tasking a satellite will take.
These things always fail to get traction.
“maybe lighter than airships will be making a big comeback down the road in a few decades “
Yeah but every 4 or 5 years the newest “proposal” will be offered.
sounds like the s.h.i.e.l.d. hover carrier
I’m betting on Michigan. :0
That depends on whether it will use stealth. Supposedly our military satellites now use stealth.
A stealth blimp?
You make a good point about the small ones.
A blimp that is 1.5x the size of football field is something else.
Don’t get too attached to your GPS.
In the case of Dearbornistan, is there a difference?
Sounds like the old Aerostat program.
Skyhook balloons were balloons developed by Otto C. Winzen and used by the United States Navy Office of Naval Research in the late 1940s and in the 1950s for atmospheric research, especially for constant-level meteorological observations at very high altitudes. Instruments like the Cherenkov detector were first used on skyhook balloons.
In the late 1940s, Project Skyhook balloons provided a stable vehicle for long duration observations at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. Balloons, long used for collecting meteorological data, now offered the opportunity of collecting highly specialized information and photographs.
Some people believe that the Roswell Incident was the crash of a Skyhook Balloon which was launched from a facility in Texas and circled the globe with a camera which would photograph the bad guys!
After this program the U2 and SR71 took over!
I think most have a ceiling of 10-15K meters.
Okay.
I remember this being an idea we were tossing around in the Combat Developments arena here at Ft. Huachuca back in ‘92. No, 1992, I’m not that old.
Yes, can easily be shot down with missiles.
Those aerostats along the Mexican border are being put to good use...
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