I was at work when I heard that they were scrambling military jets to go after a runaway unmanned blimp from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds located northeast of Baltimore. The blimp was drifting northward and ended up well across PA before final crashing. I have seen it from the highway when travelling south. It seemed like overkill until I learned it was worth 180 million and is as long as a football field. Apparently it's part of the east coast air defense system and can track an area as big as Texas. It did take out power to 18,000 as it free floated on the leftover wind of what's left of hurricane Patricia.
If I had a little advanced warning I would gotten the ol' Mossberg and dropped it for them.
If I had a little advanced warning I would gotten the ol' Mossberg and dropped it for them.
A JLENS blimp (Photo: U.S. Air Force)
NORAD scrambled jets on Wednesday to track a military blimp that broke free of its tether at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
A JLENS blimp, short for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor, was accompanied at 16,000 feet by two F-16s fighter jets from the New Jersey National Guard. The aircraft was eventually secured in Montour County, Pennsylvania.
The blimp (technically an aerostat), detached from its East Coast surveillance location at 11:54 a.m. EST.
“We’re concerned about the safety of the people on the ground across a pretty wide swath of Pennsylvania. The blimp left quite a bit of damage at ground level in its path. … We’re continuing to monitor the situation, but are thankful that something worse did not occur,” Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pennsylvania, said in a statement, Fox News reported.
The $180 million surveillance aircraft’s 6,700-foot cable caused power outages for roughly 18,000 people, regional utility PPL reported.
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