Army To Launch Spy Blimp Over Maryland

[DamianTV]

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/14/12/...-over-maryland

A multi-billion-dollar Army project will soon be able to track nearly everything within 340 miles when an 80-yard-long blimp is hoisted into the air over Maryland. Way to be subtle, guys. From the article: "Technically considered aerostats, since they are tethered to mooring stations, these lighter-than-air vehicles will hover at a height of 10,000 feet just off Interstate 95, about 45 miles northeast of Washington, D.C., and about 20 miles from Baltimore. That means they can watch what’s happening from North Carolina to Boston, or an area the size of Texas."

Nothing says Freedom like a Police State Blimp.

[Anti Federalist]

This country is $#@!ed.

Young people: GTFO while the getting is good.

[muh_roads]

Young people: GTFO while the getting is good.

Yup.

[Occam's Banana]

Not to worry. We have it on good authority that blimps don't matter ...

[sparebulb]

State sponsored blimps are all over the country.

Their monitoring and reporting features are going to be activated soon.

[AngryCanadian]

The designs of those blimps are so fascist WW2

[Danke]

State sponsored blimps are all over the country.

Their monitoring and reporting features are going to be activated soon.

You're a far more horrible person than she (Bristol Palin) will ever be.

[sparebulb]

You're a far more horrible person than she (Bristol Palin) will ever be.

Danke:

Back-boobs

It is in your mind now.

It cannot be removed.

It is part of you now.

[Spikender]

Let's hope some patriots armed with anti-blimp weaponry still exist in Maryland.

[Anti Federalist]

You're a far more horrible person than she (Bristol Palin) will ever be.

Ban?

[donnay]

Flash back:

Why Is A Gigantic War-Blimp About To Fly Above the Skies Of Suburban Baltimore?

by Tyler Durden on 01/23/2014 12:52 -0400

One of the most disturbing and relentless trends over the past several years has been the redirection of war technology and equipment from the battlefield abroad toward domestic use in the USA. This has resulted in a militarization of police across the nation and has encouraged small towns to use Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants to purchase ridiculous items such as tanks.

Sadly, it appears this trend is only accelerating. With billions of dollars already spent, and failed wars abroad, the military-industrial complex needs to continue to generate cash flow. May as well just use it against the American people.



We find out from the Washington Post that:

They will look like two giant white blimps floating high above I-95 in Maryland, perhaps en route to a football game somewhere along the bustling Eastern Seaboard. But their mission will have nothing to do with sports and everything to do with war.



The aerostats — that is the term for lighter-than-air craft that are tethered to the ground — are to be set aloft on Army-owned land about 45 miles northeast of Washington, near Aberdeen Proving Ground, for a three-year test slated to start in October. From a vantage of 10,000 feet, they will cast a vast radar net from Raleigh, N.C., to Boston and out to Lake Erie, with the goal of detecting cruise missiles or enemy aircraft so they could be intercepted before reaching the capital.

Interesting, I didn’t realize we were at war. When was the last time cruise missiles were shot into the United States?

Aerostats deployed by the military at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan typically carried powerful surveillance cameras as well, to track the movements of suspected insurgents and even U.S. soldiers.



Defense contractor Raytheon last year touted an exercise in which it outfitted the aerostats planned for deployment in suburban Baltimore with one of the company’s most powerful high-altitude surveillance systems, capable of spotting individual people and vehicles from a distance of many miles.



The Army said it has “no current plans” to mount such cameras or infrared sensors on the aerostats or to share information with federal, state or local law enforcement, but it declined to rule out either possibility. The radar system that is planned for the aerostats will be capable of monitoring the movement of trains, boats and cars, the Army said.


Continued...

[Anti Federalist]

“They’re wonderful for staring at things,” says Ed Herlik, a former Air Force officer and technology analyst with a particular interest in airships. “That’s what the Israelis use them for.”

And it’s not just their ability to document what they see that’s so valuable; it’s the psychological effect. “If you put a camera in a sky over an area where you expect a lot of unrest, the area will calm down,” he says.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2...unch-maryland/

[FrancisMarion]

"We can build these for you for 180 milllion a piece".
"Due to cost overruns, the build price was 1.4 billion a piece".

I am curious of these tethers and anchor. 10K Linear foot tethers I imagine will weigh a great deal. The dead load and live loads (wind at 10,000 feet) will be a great deal to resist.

[Occam's Banana]

“They’re wonderful for staring at things,” says Ed Herlik, a former Air Force officer and technology analyst with a particular interest in airships. “That’s what the Israelis use them for.”

And it’s not just their ability to document what they see that’s so valuable; it’s the psychological effect. “If you put a camera in a sky over an area where you expect a lot of unrest, the area will calm down,” he says.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2...unch-maryland/

IOW: Literally a panopticon - and one beyond the wildest dreams of Jeremy Bentham ...

[Danke]

Ban?

Immediately!

[Danke]

They have had these along the US Mexico border for some time.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethe...t_Radar_System

[limequat]

I wonder if a quad-copter could pierce its skin.

[Anti Federalist]

I wonder if a quad-copter could pierce its skin.

Hmm...

[dannno]

Collins should tell them why this is such a bad idea.

[HOLLYWOOD]

with the goal of detecting cruise missiles or enemy aircraft so they could be intercepted before reaching the capital.

Your tax dollars at work... protecting the Crime Syndicate(s) within the Washington DC beltway... the rest of the country, well... you're screwed, go defend yourself mundanes!

Just like Ferguson, MO... government sent in Forces, Barriers, and advanced weapons/technology to protect government buildings and property, but the local businesses, buildings, and private citizens... take a hike peons aka milk cows.


PS: Always remember, those that commit the most egregious crimes and fraud, are usually always the ones that need the most security & protection... that's why the 'Paramilitary DHS-Law Enforcements' hide behind tanks, sniper rifles, machine guns, and black masks. Hitler, Mao, & Stalin had 1000s of bodyguards... and they needed them. Just watch, it will be more and more security and protection for the international crime syndicates, as they expect reprisals for terrorizing the world.... but you are told, they hate 'US' for our freedoms!

[Occam's Banana]

They should paint an Eye of Sauron on each side ...