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:
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."