Posted on 01/24/2014 9:22:47 AM PST by Biggirl
THE PENTAGON -- The Pentagon has discovered a gap in the defenses of Washington, D.C., and it's about to test a solution.
But depending on your point of view, the solution is either vital for national security or a threat to American privacy.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
“I’m a little unclear on exactly how a tethered blimp is supposed to intercept a maneuvering 500 mph cruise missile.”
It’s equipped with 20GBs of sternly worded letters delivered via WiFi.
No massive internal security apparatus in the history of the world has ever been used specifically against foreign threats. Their main target is always domestic political suppression.
We have NORAD for this purpose. This isn’t going to be anything but slow moving, high resolution, probably audio capable drones to be used against our privacy probably in areas where there isn’t enough security cameras to monitor everything else.
One can cram a lot of data down an optical fiber or twenty snaked down the tether...
from snippets and bits over the past months, “someone’ sure is doing a lot of monitoring for radiation (?) and etc (?) along the Maryland coast esp in vicinity of Baltimore
When the Air Force flies daily their recce platforms on training missions to practice, or to test new recce capabilities, is that a threat to privacy? What about our satellites, both commercial and military? Traffic cameras? Store cameras? The next-door neighbor and his remote-control aircraft out-fitted with a camera. . .etc. . .?
ANY technology, any capability COULD be used against any people, so in a way, yes it COULD be a threat to privacy.
Cruise missiles are a very real threat. We have them and used them (Tomahawk missiles are cruise missiles). Other countries have their own versions of cruise missiles and WILL use them if they can, and use them against us. Shouldn’t we take steps to protect ourselves from this threat?
How do we develop better methods to protect against this threat? While we have the capability now to shoot down the cruise missiles, we have very limited detection capability.
If we object to the development and testing of technology that can detect cruise missiles, how do you propose we develop this capability?
And line-of sight limitations of surface ships versus elevated platforms?
Why do we have AWACS if ground-based radars can do the same thing?
Line of sight. . .how far you can see.
Pentagon to Launch Blimps to Guard Against Low Flying Fuddy Airplanes.
It is not intended to intercept anything - its a platform for aerial radar observation - its cheaper and safer to use a thered aerostat for that than to have an AWACS flying full-time in a racetrack orbit around the capital.
Lots of misunderstanding in this thread - its not an invasion of privacy, its not a plan to put 100s of blimps over Washington, its not a step backwards to 1930 technology. Frankly we should be using these to observe border airspace and airspace around important sites all over the country.
Detection only. We have the ability to shoot cruise missiles (article is wrong on that part).
NORAD is an organization that uses technology. NORAD is to detect ICBM’s, primarily, and to intercept aircraft.
NORAD sensors are not designed to detect very-low flying cruise missiles. This blimp technology would be tied into NORAD and provide that capability to NORAD.
“I’m a little unclear on exactly how a tethered blimp is supposed to intercept a maneuvering 500 mph cruise missile.”
It is above ground clutter, so it can do what a surface mounted radar can’t. It also has a pretty far horizon- at ground level it’s about 15 miles, but from 10kft it’s several hundred miles.
So when North Korea launches a missile from 90 miles offshore, the radar sees it, does all the tracking solutions, and hands the data off to something that CAN take action, maybe a cruiser with PHALANX abord or some missile system. The radar can work in a closed loop with a guided missile, as active fire control.
It’s just a radar mounted up high, cheaper than flying AWACS 24/7.
Aberdeen is a testing ground for such programs.
ARMED Fuddy Airplanes, to be clear.
I live a couple miles from this base. Close enough to hear and feel test explosions. I wonder how bad all the Baltimore libs are going to complain about their view with a blimp in the way.
doesn’t explain this
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2014/01/14/helicopter-over-baltimore-to-monitor-radiation/
and this is not the first buried news report of similar monitoring
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