The Conservative Cave
Current Events => General Discussion => Topic started by: dj3strikes on March 13, 2009, 09:47:49 PM
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(http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2203/45548905.jpg)
The giant dirigible would use radar to closely and constantly monitor activity on the ground from 65,000 feet.
The Pentagon said Thursday that it intends to spend $400 million to develop a giant dirigible that will float 65,000 feet above the Earth for 10 years, providing unblinking and intricate radar surveillance of the vehicles, planes and even people below.
“It is absolutely revolutionary,” Werner J.A. Dahm, chief scientist for the Air Force, said of the proposed unmanned airship — describing it as a cross between a satellite and a spy plane.
The 450-foot-long craft would give the U.S. military a better understanding of an adversary’s movements, habits and tactics, officials said. And the ability to constantly monitor small movements in a wide area — the Afghanistan- Pakistan border, for example — would dramatically improve military intelligence.
“It is constant surveillance, uninterrupted,” Dahm said. “When you only have a short-time view — whether it is a few hours or a few days — that is not enough to put the picture together.”
The project reflects a shift in Pentagon planning and spending priorities under Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has urged the military services to improve intelligence and surveillance operations while cutting high-tech weaponry costs.
http://waronyou.com/topics/pentagon-plans-blimp-to-spy-from-new-heights/
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Pentagon plans blimp to spy from new heights
The giant dirigible would use radar to closely and constantly monitor activity on the ground from 65,000 feet.
The Pentagon said Thursday that it intends to spend $400 million to develop a giant dirigible that will float 65,000 feet above the Earth for 10 years, providing unblinking and intricate radar surveillance of the vehicles, planes and even people below.
“It is absolutely revolutionary,†Werner J.A. Dahm, chief scientist for the Air Force, said of the proposed unmanned airship — describing it as a cross between a satellite and a spy plane.
The 450-foot-long craft would give the U.S. military a better understanding of an adversary’s movements, habits and tactics, officials said. And the ability to constantly monitor small movements in a wide area — the Afghanistan- Pakistan border, for example — would dramatically improve military intelligence.
“It is constant surveillance, uninterrupted,†Dahm said. “When you only have a short-time view — whether it is a few hours or a few days — that is not enough to put the picture together.â€
The project reflects a shift in Pentagon planning and spending priorities under Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has urged the military services to improve intelligence and surveillance operations while cutting high-tech weaponry costs.
http://waronyou.com/topics/pentagon-plans-blimp-to-spy-from-new-heights/
Get back to us once you can provide a more legitimate source ok?
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It's cheaper to put satellites in the air that do the same thing. I'm calling bunk on this one.
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Actually, this dirigible has been talked about for at LEAST a decade. Old news........ :yawn:
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It's cheaper to put satellites in the air that do the same thing. I'm calling bunk on this one.
Of course it is bunk.
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Decided the LA Times wasn't a good source eh Chris?
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-spyblimp13-2009mar13,0,4608400.story
Reporting from Washington -- The Pentagon said Thursday that it intends to spend $400 million to develop a giant dirigible that will float 65,000 feet above the Earth for 10 years, providing unblinking and intricate radar surveillance of the vehicles, planes and even people below.
"It is absolutely revolutionary," Werner J.A. Dahm, chief scientist for the Air Force, said of the proposed unmanned airship -- describing it as a cross between a satellite and a spy plane.
:p
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Decided the LA Times wasn't a good source eh Chris?
Depends on your definition of what "news" is... :-)
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Oh, cool! My budget is 400 mil!
AND, it's an Army project. SUCK IT, AIR FARSE!
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Its legit, They were seen in florida last year.
its obvious this is for citizens, Russia and China would just shoot it down and make it a big waste of money.
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Its legit, They were seen in florida last year.
its obvious this is for citizens, Russia and China would just shoot it down and make it a big waste of money.
No they weren't. That was a joint Navy/Coast Guard manned test blimp with a upper endurance limit of about 2 days and a practical endurance of a whole 8 hours. Not 10 years. Nice try though. Next.
Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN6O43930320080624)
By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - With oil prices rising sky-high, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard will test a helium-filled blimp to see if it can supplement the fuel-hungry aircraft that search the Florida Straits for smugglers and boats in distress.
The Navy is leasing a Skyship 600, about the size of a Boeing 747, for the six-week test mission between Florida's southern coast and Cuba, Coast Guard Lt. Matthew Moorlag said on Tuesday.
The manned ship is held aloft by nonflammable helium and propelled by two Porsche 930 engines that consume 10 to 12 gallons of regular gasoline per hour.
"It's considered a very green machine," said George Spyrou, president of Airship Management Services Inc, which owns and operates the blimp. "A regular jet uses more fuel to travel from the gate to the taxiway than we would to fly for a whole week."
The airship has a bathroom and can stay aloft up to 52 hours without refueling but the surveillance flights off Florida will be limited to about eight hours to guard against crew fatigue, Spyrou said.
Edit: A bouncy outside the DUmp? Sweet.
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Its legit, They were seen in florida last year.
its obvious this is for citizens, Russia and China would just shoot it down and make it a big waste of money.
They are already in the air, I seen the chemtrails.
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Its legit, They were seen in florida last year.
its obvious this is for citizens, Russia and China would just shoot it down and make it a big waste of money.
For a cohort of misfits who are always complaining that their rights have been stripped due to big brother watching their every move -- they really have no fear posting this total crap on websites....
Listen for the helicopters. They are coming.
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They are already in the air, I seen the chemtrails.
Anything that helps Chloe help Jack Bauer save the world?? Totally sign me up.
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Anything that helps Chloe help Jack Bauer save the world?? Totally sign me up.
:-)
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For a cohort of misfits who are always complaining that their rights have been stripped due to big brother watching their every move -- they really have no fear posting this total crap on websites....
Listen for the helicopters. They are coming.
This is about as creative as I'm going to get at 0415...
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b278/mike220/motivator6430286.jpg)
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Can these blimps detect bunnies? So, I can send black helicopters to attack them.