Posted on 06/30/2012 8:28:51 AM PDT by docbnj
The U.S. military is preparing for the maiden flight of a football-field-size airship laden with surveillance gear designed to do the work of a dozen drones—and destined for Afghanistan. The experimental craft, known as the Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle, or LEMV, is designed to loiter over combat zones for weeks at a time, outfitted with high-tech sensors that can intercept phone calls, shoot full-motion video or track the movement of insurgents. [Full article available only to subscribers.]
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
This
‘One would think that a blimp would be easy to shoot down: big and visible”
was my furst thought
I don’t think it can be high enough to escape a missile
surely there is something about it we do not know yet
“Sky” blimp?? You mean “Spy” blimp.
It does sound like it would be an easy target to shoot down on a battlefield.....but over a city or neighborhood? Could be easier than a drone to spy on people...
Hey, then what is this? http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/deflated-mega-blimp/all/
The blimp or Obama’s message to his raghead buddies with all of the technical info on how to take over control of it.
This has possible uses but I think it actually will be most useful as a cover story. When someone asks “How ever did the US gather this intelligence?” They can comfort themselves that it was either this huge blimp thing or a faster and smaller drone. Actually there are other methods to gather the intel, methods based on assets at far greater altitudes.
Immense hubris filled with explosive gas, beginning it's decent into the November elections...
Someone somehow hijacks this military thread and connects it to DADT repeal in 3...2...1...
I assume that this will have blinking neon lights on it that will read “Forward with Obama”.
BINGO! What a TARGET??? This seems like one of the DUMBEST things going.
If you think an enormous, all seeing, engorged cylinder floating around in the sky isn’t a symptom of military reliance on homo-erotic daydreams for weapons development you’re kidding yourself.
Believe me, if this had been developed by red-blooded, meat eating heterosexuals it’d be sleek, triangular, and capable of raining death upon jihadi’s from 110,000ft while doing mach 16.
It certainly would be a target for enemy aircraft, but at 20,000 ft no raghead munitions will touch it.
Think of the commercial use....I own a oil field in Alaska.....I get re-supplied by one of these?
I will admit that the mangled title had me scratching my head for a moment - what other kind of blimp besides a 'sky blimp' could there possibly be...
Technically a "lifting body" aerodynamic shape as well as a LTA craft...
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