Flying Hippopotamus Over Afghanistan: $500 Million-Plus -- The Nation
The Pentagon has officially outdone itself: even as the war in Afghanistan winds down to its unhappy denouement, the Department of Defense is deploying what the Wall Street Journal calls a “football-field-size airship laden with surveillance gear,” essentially a gigantic blimp that will float over the county like a giant alien spaceship from Independence Day. Which, come to think of it, is exactly how Afghans might view it.
No one has seen the damn thing yet, but it’s likely to take flight soon on a test run in New Jersey at the same airfield where the Hindenburg blimp exploded and burned.
Read more ....
Update #1: The Army's New Surveillance Blimp Is The Size Of A Football Field And Can Stay Aloft For Weeks -- Business Insider
Update #2: Army's long-endurance airship days away from flight testing -- Defense Systems
My Comment: The technology to conduct 24/7 surveillance is what probably ate up most of the budget .... but will it be useful .... I guess we will find out when they start field testing it. And if the Afghan war is over before they can send it over there .... then do not be surprised to see it floating around a city near you.
