January 23, 2014
A Raytheon Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted
Sensor System aerostat is pictured on the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
Photo courtesy w54.biz
The Pentagon plan to deploy two large blimplike aircraft 10,000 feet into the sky about 45 miles northeast of Washington, D.C., has raised new privacy concerns even though the Army says there is nothing to be worried about.
The aircraft was described as aerostats, which means they are lighter than air while being tethered to the ground, The Washington Post reported
. These aircraft have been employed in Iraq, Afghanistan and on the Mexican border because they can be equipped with radars and high-altitude surveillance systems that are capable of spotting flying objects up to 340 miles away. These systems are militarily valuable because they are capable of tracking low-flying missiles and movement on the ground.
The $2.7-billion Maryland project is reportedly set to begin in October and span three years on the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground in suburban Baltimore. The project’s intended goal is to detect any low-flying missiles or enemy aircraft that might be headed to the capital, the report said.