News U.S. Military Radar Blimp Goes A.W.O.L.

[Thunder Chicken]

A U.S. military observation aerostat (a.k.a. unmanned blimp a.k.a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System or JLENS) broke free from its mooring today and is making its way up the northeast U.S.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/10/28/blimp-air-defense-f-16s/74747832/

It's a radar platform and reportedly costs $2.8 billion, so shooting it down is not a happy option. It is moving along with a storm that it is moving up the coast, so tracking it and (and grabbing it) has been difficult. It is being shadowed by fighter jets at the moment. The mooring cable reportedly is dragging along the ground and has damaged some houses and power lines.

This should be interesting. If you find the blimp, please drop it in the nearest mailbox addressed to NORAD.

---------- Post added at 04:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------

It does amuse me so much when people say "nothing can go wrong", and then it does - in grand fashion.

I like this...wonder if it is true:

A Twitter account for the blimp, which already existed, also offered some updates from the road, starting with the simple goodbye message, "Peace out losers."

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Whoops? :lol:

 

[Artlav]

Why don't they just shoot it down?
I thought USA military have an unlimited budget, what's a couple billions to them?
/s

 

[boogabooga]

Seems like someone needs a refresher course on finite element methods...

 

[Frilock]

My favorite part of all this was reading on fox news that it was filled with highly flammable helium.

 

[boogabooga]

So did MSNBC. By an "expert".

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Why don't they just shoot it down?
I thought USA military have an unlimited budget, what's a couple billions to them?
/s

Let's see, $2.8 billion is
- 5 new Long Range Strike Bombers, plus fuel, crews, and ordinance for a year...
- 28 F-35 Lightning IIs
- 2 years of pay for the management of the DoD

 

[compumike08]

Why they didn't shoot it down

Why don't they just shoot it down?
I thought USA military have an unlimited budget, what's a couple billions to them?
/s

The end of the tether (which was roughly 10,000 feet long) was dragging along the ground. There may have been concerns that if they shot down the blimp the tether might fall. 10,000 feet of tether falling to the ground from that height can do a massive amount of damage to anything it hits on the ground. Also, when aircraft are shot down, they rain burning debris down on the ground below them. That may have also been a concern. The blimp was slow moving and was gradually descending on its own. The damage caused by the dragging tether was small compared to a worst case scenerio of shooting down the blimp and the burning debris crashing down and injuring or killing people and causing lots of fire damage.

Oh, and just to clarify, when I say "burning debris", I mean the structure of the blimp and remains of equipment on board. I'm fully aware that helium doesn't burn, and that the NORAD spokesman who said that was an uninformed idiot.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

My favorite part of all this was reading on fox news that it was filled with highly flammable helium.

Oh, how I want to get a helium balloon, breath it in, and laugh at this at a high-pitched munchkin voice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J51mRpDa5o*

But I won't, because it is freaking sad and pathetic. Really? Are the masses really that scientifically illiterate? This is high school knowledge.

*Being a saturation diver must be a hysterical blast for the first two hours. However, a month of munchkin talk would cause me to murder everyone in the hab plus a few passing whales.

---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:27 PM ----------

So did MSNBC. By an "expert".

I think we need a national registry for experts. A lot of "experts" are idiots that can't tie their own shoes.

---------- Post added at 06:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:29 PM ----------

Seems like someone needs a refresher course on finite element methods...

Or the ability to draw a simple free body diagram and calculate the extreme forces. Computers not necessary - brain rather necessary.

 

[Quick_Nick]

They managed to wrangle it back down. But it took out a lot of power lines first.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

This image pleases me so much. The Amish must be wondering "WTF?"

 

[boogabooga]

My favorite part of all this was reading on fox news that it was filled with highly flammable helium.

Also, suddenly 243 feet is "two football fields long" :facepalm:

So, math as well as science illiterate...

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Also, suddenly 243 feet is "two football fields long" :facepalm:

So, math as well as science illiterate...

Two kicks to the head, for unnecessary roughness to the laws of physics ))

 

[Urwumpe]

Swamp gas, obviously.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Weather balloon dammit! It's a weather balloon! Swamp gas is for the tin-foil hatters.

Nothing to see here Amish folks. Sorry for alarming your horses.

 

[Frilock]

Also, suddenly 243 feet is "two football fields long" :facepalm:

So, math as well as science illiterate...

I suppose that would depend on what the definition of football field is...and possibly the definition of 'is'.

 

[ISProgram]

This image pleases me so much. The Amish must be wondering "WTF?"

Aliens.

 

[Andy44]

Jesus, Lana, the helium!

 

[mojoey]

"Hello airplanes? It's blimps. You win."

 

[Soheil_Esy]