# Billion dollar surveillance blimps will cover the I-95 corridor in US



## twilyth (Dec 20, 2014)

This is bound to go over really well with folks who are already fed up with govt surveillance but these drones are supposed to be only for missile defense.



> Next week, residents in the Baltimore area will wake up to a major surprise: Two massive Army airships that will be visible from Interstate 95 for the next three years.
> 
> Tethered at the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground 25 miles northeast of Baltimore, the airships will quickly become an uncomfortable fact of life for Americans living in the Northeast. The massive airships, each about three times the size of a Goodyear blimp, are the latest in aerial surveillance.
> 
> ...














More at link - http://www.businessinsider.sg/army-launching-two-surveillance-blimps-next-week-2014-12


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 20, 2014)

Your hard-earned tax dollars going to waste.

Note how it doesn't say "secondary" capabilities but it does say primary.  Probably means they do a whole lot more than spot cruise missiles.  Remind me, when was the last time the east coast was attacked by a cruise missile.  Never?

For those that don't know, I-95 is on the east coast of the USA going from Florida to Maine.


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## Jack1n (Dec 20, 2014)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Your hard-earned tax dollars going to waste.
> 
> Note how it doesn't say "secondary" capabilities but it does say primary.  Probably means they do a whole lot more than spot cruise missiles.  Remind me, when was the last time the east coast was attacked by a cruise missile.  Never?
> 
> For those that don't know, I-95 is on the east coast of the USA going from Florida to Maine.


With tension rising between the USA and Russia its better to have this and not need than the other way around.


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## manofthem (Dec 20, 2014)

I'm on I-95 right now 


Out of scope


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## twilyth (Dec 20, 2014)

We know, check my youtube channel to see what you're doing.

WARNING:  May not be suitable for younger viewers


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## Tatty_One (Dec 20, 2014)

Who you expecting to missile attack you?


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## Xzibit (Dec 20, 2014)

Just cut the rope.


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## twilyth (Dec 20, 2014)

Tatty_One said:


> Who you expecting to missile attack you?


That's a good question.  My guess would be the main concern is either submarine launched cruise missiles which basically means Russia and possibly China or maybe shoulder mounted surface to air missiles.  With all of the crap going on in Ukraine, who knows how many of those types of units have made it onto the black market.

The problem with the latter though is that those tend to be short range so I doubt that anything could be done if a launch were detected except pinpoint the exact location and maybe capture the people responsible.


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 20, 2014)

China wouldn't get close before the threat is neutralized (they're working on one nuclear submarine, the rest are diesel, and their surface ships would be sunk before or after an attack was launched).  Russia is the only real threat and with their economy collapsing, us spending $1 billion in defense against something that would likely result in WW3 seems frivolous.  It stinks of Reagan's "star wars" program.  The only way this makes sense is if it completely replaces the aircraft that are doing the same job.

CIWS is the only weapon system that can stop shoulder-launched missiles and if you aren't on the boat it was shot at, not much chance of CIWS stopping it either.


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## Tatty_One (Dec 20, 2014)

It seems to me that unless every major city and every military installation as well as equipment manufacturers have this kind of protection it's fruitless in any case, does not sound like a Billion will stretch to that.  In any case Russia is not really a threat, they have the Rhetoric, they have neither the will or the capability to mount any kind of attack on the US and sustain anything other than survival, in fact in my opinion even Europe is probably beyond them.


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## Norton (Dec 20, 2014)

This system can probably track, and kill if it sees the need, the small drones that have been so problematic to airports, etc...

Better launch your quad copter from a friends house from now on.


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## remixedcat (Dec 20, 2014)

Tatty_One said:


> Who you expecting to missile attack you?


North korea


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## twilyth (Dec 20, 2014)

Norton said:


> This system can probably track, and kill if it sees the need, the small drones that have been so problematic to airports, etc...
> 
> Better launch your quad copter from a friends house from now on.


LOL.  I can see it now.  Some kid flying his mylar kite over the Potomac and in comes a anti-aircraft missile to take it out.  Whoosh, BAM!

MOOMMMIIIEEEE!!!


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## vega22 (Dec 20, 2014)

none of those places would send missiles over the atlantic at the states, they would all come from your west...


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## MilkyWay (Dec 20, 2014)

It seems to be just another spending boost for defence contractors, to me its a fucking waste of money and strategically stupid. They are probably spying on people on the Eastern Seaboard lulz. Don't they have radar and sonar and other cool shit to shoot down missiles on boats that could patrol the coast line? Oh but wait then you can't spy on people and these probably cost more.

At the least it's unmanned so its probably cheap to maintain and run if a bit stupid.


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## Solaris17 (Dec 20, 2014)

How does this even go through do they slip this into a bill or something that raises the budget for this stupid shit?


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## Steevo (Dec 20, 2014)

Next they will be offering Wifi service off it, as long as big brother get to spy on what you are doing of course. 


Chocolate rations are being increased


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## AsRock (Dec 21, 2014)

Wait till some one find's it fun to hack in to one of them and please don't say it can never happen lol.

Other wise it make me think of  WW1\2


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## twilyth (Dec 21, 2014)

This isn't just for the east coast folks.  Ohio gets some much deserved love too.  LOL



> The two blimps will function in concert. One of them will provide constant 360-degree scanning, covering a circular area from North Carolina to central Ohio to upstate New York even as the blimp remains stationary over suburban Baltimore. The other will focus on more specific targets. All together, JLENS will be able to track missiles, aircraft, and drones in a 340-mile radius.


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## rtwjunkie (Dec 21, 2014)

Sub'd for the laughs!


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 21, 2014)

twilyth said:


> This isn't just for the east coast folks.  Ohio gets some much deserved love too.  LOL


340-mile radius...am I the only one that finds that pathetic?  Also, propulsion?  I don't see any signs of any kind of motor on there.  Is it tethered and never moves?  I predict collisions.  That's the great thing about aircraft...no tether.  What if there is no available interceptors in range of the Fire Control RADAR balloon?  Nothing, that's what.




Fun fact: that picture is of Cain venant de tuer son frére Abel by Henri Vidal in 1896.  The first what-we'd-call-a-blimp airship took flight in 1884 (La France).  Besides the surprising side-fact that both of these things are French and the electronic gizmos, this would have been at home a century ago.  Way to forward think, Raytheon!


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## RealNeil (Dec 21, 2014)

If you see them on the East Coast, it will not be long before they're out West. (down South,.......Up North)


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 21, 2014)

RealNeil said:


> If you see them on the East Coast, it will not be long before they're out West. (down South,.......Up North)


Yeah, nevermind the part in the middle.  They're all higher than a kite...or a blimp in this case.


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

somebody will be taking pot shots at at it ... 
idiotic ...


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## RealNeil (Dec 21, 2014)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Yeah, nevermind the part in the middle.  They're all higher than a kite...or a blimp in this case.



Their reason for having them is to prevent offshore/beyond our borders attacks. (or see them quicker)
Middle doesn't matter for that.

I can see a small plane smacking into one of the cables and causing a National meltdown.


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## Lopez0101 (Dec 21, 2014)

Just FYI, these most definitely have cameras on them. I saw several of these (or very similar) in Afghan and they were used for surveillence. And yes, they're tethered to the ground and not meant to move around.

And besides, I thought that's what the whole point of the anti-missile Patriot batteries are for. Just more pointless fear mongering.


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## twilyth (Dec 21, 2014)

OneMoar said:


> somebody will be taking pot shots at at it ...
> idiotic ...


Well, 10k feet is almost 2 miles.  There aren't a lot of rounds that can go that far straight up and have a lot of punch left.  Plus, that would be shooting straight from underneath.  Mostly likely, that's not where you would want to be standing I would think.

edit:  I also assume that they're going to use something like ballistic nylon in the construction so it shouldn't be like punching through a balloon, at least I hope not.


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 21, 2014)

If you think these are for outside attacks I got a bridge to sell ya.


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

twilyth said:


> Well, 10k feet is almost 2 miles.  There aren't a lot of rounds that can go that far straight up and have a lot of punch left.  Plus, that would be shooting straight from underneath.  Mostly likely, that's not where you would want to be standing I would think.
> 
> edit:  I also assume that they're going to use something like ballistic nylon in the construction so it shouldn't be like punching through a balloon, at least I hope not.


whos talking about bullets .


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## ShiBDiB (Dec 21, 2014)

OneMoar said:


> somebody will be taking pot shots at at it ...
> idiotic ...




U can light these things up and they wont come down. We have smaller ones in afghanistan and they're littered with bullet holes when they get pulled down for maintenance.


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

ShiBDiB said:


> U can light these things up and they wont come down. We have smaller ones in afghanistan and they're littered with bullet holes when they get pulled down for maintenance.


dam where does a civi go to buy a *FIM-92J Stinger ... *


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## ShiBDiB (Dec 21, 2014)

OneMoar said:


> dam where does a civi go to buy a *FIM-92J Stinger ... *



lol they had one break loose last year and had to use an F-16 to down it....

They're great surveillance platforms at bases, ridiculous force multiplier.


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## twilyth (Dec 21, 2014)

ShiBDiB said:


> lol they had one break loose last year and had to use an F-16 to down it....
> 
> They're great surveillance platforms at bases, ridiculous force multiplier.


OMG, that is just too f**king funny.


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

ShiBDiB said:


> lol they had one break loose last year and had to use an F-16 to down it....
> 
> They're great surveillance platforms at bases, ridiculous force multiplier.


yes but do we _need_ one stateside
I thing everybody is growing quiet tired of the "terror threat" being used as justification for this kind of stuff I am all for kicking the bad guys ass but this just boarder lines on the silly
if nothing else they are basically a airborne target awaiting to get blown out of the sky and cause massive collateral over the busiest interstate in the us ...
a terrorist isn't gonna bother with a RPG7 or Stinger they are just gonna get the first thing they can that fly load it with C4 and ram it ...


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## GLD (Dec 21, 2014)

Not flaming, being serious. When is the west coast going to get this tech? I want my country to be safe. I want my neighborhood to be safe. If there is a tea bag looking to cause problems (or worse) where we live, don't we all want them found out and stopped in their tracks.

Isn't money spent on home defense better then handing out monthly checks to tea bags that pretend they cant work, or the baby momma's that have babies for the pay check?

Flack incoming I am sure... but if you live in the USA, maybe think about it a moment before you flame me.


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

GLD said:


> Not flaming, being serious. When is the west coast going to get this tech? I want my country to be safe. I want my neighborhood to be safe. If there is a tea bag looking to cause problems (or worse) where we live, don't we all want them found out and stopped in their tracks.
> 
> Isn't money spent on home defense better then handing out monthly checks to tea bags that pretend they cant work, or the baby momma's that have babies for the pay check?
> 
> Flack incoming I am sure... but if you live in the USA, maybe think about it a moment before you flame me.


no I won't flame you
you are just a misguided fool
I pitty you


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## Lopez0101 (Dec 21, 2014)

I'm a citizen and in the military and I think this kind of shit is a huge waste of money. Same as the F-35 program. I'd rather see my taxes go toward things that actually improve society (subsidised college, health care, fixing/improving failing infrastructure, etc) than garbage that isn't going to protect you from a damn thing.

Here's a great idea to help make the US safer. Pull out of almost every other country in the world and stay out of fights that aren't ours to be a part of. Be amazed at how people stop hating you when you aren't dropping bombs on them.


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## GLD (Dec 21, 2014)

OneMoar said:


> no I won't flame you
> you are just a misguided fool
> I pitty you



Ha Ha you think you didn't flame by calling names.



Lopez0101 said:


> I'm a citizen and in the military and I think this kind of shit is a huge waste of money. Same as the F-35 program. I'd rather see my taxes go toward things that actually improve society (subsidised college, health care, fixing/improving failing infrastructure, etc) than garbage that isn't going to protect you from a damn thing.
> 
> Here's a great idea to help make the US safer. Pull out of almost every other country in the world and stay out of fights that aren't ours to be a part of. Be amazed at how people stop hating you when you aren't dropping bombs on them.



Fixing/improving our infrastructure IS needed! I agree with that. The other two...the dream act...Obama care...do those ring a bell? How are those working out for you?  If we pulled out of other countries our interest would be put at stake, that  would in turn effect the rest of our beautiful planet. If we pulled out who else would step in to take our place? The same fooking tards that want to do us harm.

I have not served, but I have family that has, and some that has not made it home...God Bless America.


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## Lopez0101 (Dec 21, 2014)

News flash, the middle east is never going to stop fighting. We're wasting our time and money. A real impact on our planet would be curbing China's excessive pollution, more than dealing with some radicals. I'll take the insanely small risk of getting blown up over constant survellience and domestic spying in the name of protection/freedom.

Second, Obama Case is a short hand for The Affordable Care Act and how can you expect such a huge piece of legislation to work when one side is actively trying to torpedo it for votes and the other isn't willing to work things out. Maybe if we stopped with this garbage First Past the Post voting system we could get something useful done in Congress. What do you expect to happen when two ideologies that don't agree can't compromise? Oh, right......


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

Lopez0101 said:


> News flash, the middle east is never going to stop fighting. We're wasting our time and money. A real impact on our planet would be curbing China's excessive pollution, more than dealing with some radicals. I'll take the insanely small risk of getting blown up over constant survellience and domestic spying in the name of protection/freedom.
> 
> Second, Obama Case is a short hand for The Affordable Care Act and how can you expect such a huge piece of legislation to work when one side is actively trying to torpedo it for votes and the other isn't willing to work things out. Maybe if we stopped with this garbage First Past the Post voting system we could get something useful done in Congress. What do you expect to happen when two ideologies that don't agree can't compromise? Oh, right......


1. the middle east will stop fighting when they are all dead so ... never is a lot sooner then you might think especially if they keep trying to build nukes ...
2. Obama care is short hand for Obama Tax
3. congress is at its best when they do nothing ...


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## twilyth (Dec 21, 2014)

I guess I should think twice before posting anything that has even 6 degrees of separation from politics.


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## Lopez0101 (Dec 21, 2014)

You mean, don't post unless it has at least 6 degrees. Military stuff only has one degree of seperation, lol.


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

twilyth said:


> I guess I should think twice before posting anything that has even 6 degrees of separation from politics.


hey @GLD started it but by god ill finish it


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## twilyth (Dec 21, 2014)

I think you're all just lucky the mods are probably sleeping.


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## OneMoar (Dec 21, 2014)

twilyth said:


> I think you're all just lucky the mods are probably sleeping.


pls nothing I said was any more inflammatory then his fear mongering posts about needing to feel safe
never once did I ever feel threatened by extreme-idiots in the middle east and I live in NY
when you give up and curl into a ball and start hiding from your own shadow it just means the extreme-idiots win 
never ask the government what it can do for your ask the government what you can do for it that is the only way to correct the problems with the system and the world


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## Devon68 (Dec 21, 2014)

Wow now even the government is trolling it's people.

Lets be honest if there was going to be a missile coming the first one would probably hit anyway. No one can see everything.


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## RCoon (Dec 21, 2014)

At least now they can Corner the Dorner right? Money well spent.
But yeah, these aren't built to defend against countries that have no means or will to go to war with the US. I can only assume it's for protection against their own people. Dorner had anti-air missiles at his disposal. I think their secondary function is of greater value to the people that put this into production, as opposed to detecting missiles that will never come.


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## vega22 (Dec 21, 2014)

we live in an age where we have missiles in space and they are selling this to the fools like we are still back in the 20th century...

that being said america is a backwards thinking country for the most part so....


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## Tatty_One (Dec 21, 2014)

remixedcat said:


> North korea


No range and suicide?


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## RCoon (Dec 21, 2014)

Tatty_One said:


> No range and suicide?



They can't even aim their missiles. All their tests are aimed into the ocean for a reason 
Reminds me of the Iranian attack jet picture to show off their military prowess. Turns out it was made of cardboard and fibreglass for media purposes. (See Qaher F-313)


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## twilyth (Dec 21, 2014)

RCoon said:


> At least now they can Corner the Dorner right? Money well spent.
> But yeah, these aren't built to defend against countries that have no means or will to go to war with the US. I can only assume it's for protection against their own people. Dorner had anti-air missiles at his disposal. I think their secondary function is of greater value to the people that put this into production, as opposed to detecting missiles that will never come.


The more I think about it, the more I think the most probably application is for monitoring medium to large drones.  Even relatively small drones can carry enough high explosive to do serious damage, but for larger scale mayhem of the sort that would be attractive to terrorists, you need something that can handle a larger payload.  This should be able to easily handle anything that isn't especially stealthy.


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## AsRock (Dec 21, 2014)

Lopez0101 said:


> I'm a citizen and in the military and I think this kind of shit is a huge waste of money. Same as the F-35 program. I'd rather see my taxes go toward things that actually improve society (subsidised college, health care, fixing/improving failing infrastructure, etc) than garbage that isn't going to protect you from a damn thing.
> 
> Here's a great idea to help make the US safer. Pull out of almost every other country in the world and stay out of fights that aren't ours to be a part of. Be amazed at how people stop hating you when you aren't dropping bombs on them.



Agreed, it's about time America started looking after it's self but this isn't it, i see this more of a way to spy on Americans then what they claim.  Lets face it they seen how many people it pisses off when you plant camera's every were and a great example of that would be the UK.

To me still sounds like America is becoming more of a Nazi state \ country.

EDIT: Typo


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## 95Viper (Dec 21, 2014)

AsRock said:


> i see this more of a way to spay on Americans


WOW! Is spaying covered under Obamacare?

The Aberdeen Proving grounds are right off 95... probably why they are there.


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## AsRock (Dec 21, 2014)

95Viper said:


> WOW! Is spaying covered under Obamacare?
> 
> The Aberdeen Proving grounds are right off 95... probably why they are there.



Funny typo, idea is to make people scared as possible so they except what they do.


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 22, 2014)

These balloons are for domestic spying if its even true. Any ballistic attack with go over the north poll and Canada not over the F##KING Atlantic or Pacific. Its just a massive waste of money and gives the crooked ass government more power.

Also if they are so great why are we not using them on the Mexican boarder?


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## twilyth (Dec 22, 2014)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Also if they are so great why are we not using them on the Mexican boarder?


Ask and you shall receive - http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/20/dhs-takes-control-of-surveillance-blimps-at-u-s-mexico-border-2/


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## Jborg (Dec 22, 2014)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Your hard-earned tax dollars going to waste..



Its sickening how much of our money is wasted on UNNECESSARY things.

I could go on for hours.... But in the end it won't change a dang thing.


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