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F-16s Scrambled To Track Down NORAD Surveillance Blimp Which Is Loose Somewhere Over Pennsylvania
While the world was focused on just what excuse Yellen will come up with not to hike rates after 7 consecutive years of ZIRP, and how many new "mandates" the Fed would come up with to justify its now traditional lack of action, moments ago a far more unexpected development took place when a 243-foot blimp used by NORAD in its surveillance of the east coast has become untethered from its mooring in Maryland and it's now flying somewhere over Pennsylvania, according to NORAD spokesman Lt. Joe Mavrocki.
The blimp from @USAGAPG has come off its tether. If you see it on the ground, call 911. Here's what it looks like. pic.twitter.com/mRHhpJdfHU
— Joppa-Magnolia VFC (@jmvfc8) October 28, 2015
The airship broke free around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday and has approximately 6,700 feet of tether attached to it.
DefenseOne adds that the Air Force has scrambled two F-16s from the Atlantic City Air National Guard base to track the blimp, which officials say is holding at 16,000 feet.
The blimp, which is also known as a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System aerostat or JLENS, broke free at 12:20 eastern time. “NORAD officials are working closely with the FAA to ensure air traffic safety, as well as with our other interagency partners to address the safe recovery of the aerostat,” NORAD said in a statement.
The aircraft is part of a Pentagon plan to create a net to hunt enemy drones and cruise missiles along the Eastern seaboard of the United States. The Pentagon has spent $2.55 billion on the program.
The helium-filled airship, or aerostat, is intended to provide early detection of cruise missiles over a large swath of the East Coast, from Norfolk, Virginia, to upstate New York, during a three-year test, according to military officials.
In other words, if any sworn U.S. enemies wish to launch an ICBM attack on the east coast, now is your chance.
According to WFMZ, there are reports of the blimp being over the area of Berks and Lancaster counties.
"People are warned to keep a safe distance from the airship and tether as contract with them may present significant danger," The Aberdeen Proving Ground said in a statement.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf issued the following statement: “The governor's office is in communication with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the Pennsylvania State Police, the National Guard, and the appropriate authorities with the federal government. We are closely monitoring the situation, and we will work with the appropriate authorities to respond to any resource requests and assist in any way possible."
Some more details on the program:
The much-maligned Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated netted Sensor System, or JLENS, is not technically a blimp because it it has no propulsion, rather it is a tethered aerostat. Similar but smaller aircraft have been used for overwatch surveillance to protect U.S. bases overseas for years, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The JLENS has been in testing since 2009. Raytheon, the manufacturer, has billed the JLENS program as a meant to detect missile and large drones via radar. Raytheon demonstrated that the X-band radar could pick up multiple ballistic missiles back in 2012. The JLENS’s ability to track other other objects like drones is much less clear.
Any readers who spot the blimp are kindly requested to call 911.
And here are updates on its current whereabouts:
BREAKING NEWS: The blimp has been spotted over Bloomsburg, PA. (@JonMeyerWNEP) https://t.co/D36Qx21K9I pic.twitter.com/Phr8LnR1M0
— Breaking News Feed (@PzFeed) October 28, 2015
@CrossingBroad RT @NewsOnTheMin: VIDEO: Army surveillance blimp that's broken from tether Landed in bloomsburg pic.twitter.com/iZtXD99Brz
— Wags (@wagssid) October 28, 2015
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Your tax dollars at work!
Macy's Day Parade Strikes Again.
Doing surveillance on the Amish since they dare not to use computers or cell phones.
Please remove your hats and bonnets and smile for the camera.
"Raytheon" "Genius at somethings".
"Bungee" "Saving you from Raytheon extorting more money" que big music to sell that "we know what we're doing" feeling.....lol
By now it's been reprogrammed by Iran.
"...officials say is holding at 16,000 feet."
Um, according to that twitter pic and video, I'd place it a fair bit lower.
Putin did it?
Domestic terrorists did it?
A faulty Chinese made tether manufactured on a man-made island did it?
Global warming caused the tether to deteriorate and break?
Republicans wanted a really big balloon to celebrate Paul Ryan's new job?
Too much fracking for oil in Pennsylvania caused earthquakes all over the Eastern United States, which shook the tether loose?
Obama needed the blimp re-located so that it could find one of his golf balls that was hit into the rough!
Grabbing the tethering will probably electrocute you. Just saying.
Boehner on the loose.
Next week, Alibaba will supply those blimps for 1$ a piece. Free shipping.
They bought the cables from Walmart
The report on TV is that the kite string is dragging and taking out power lines - Look our PA, Killer BLIMP ON THE LOOSE - Sounds like a new Blob Movie right in time for halloween
Shoot it down over Somerset County and add a wing to the Flight 93 memorial. Net add to the economy .. Hey, I'm an economist now.
Oh, the humanity!
$2,550,000,000. Unbelieveable they would budget that amount for a fucking blimp program.....Will the useless spending by the pentagon ever stop ???
They call it "zombie project" who are the zombies?
9-11 and Norad is no where to be seen.
Blimp on the loose and swarms of F-16 all over the place.
Priorities, baby.
World War I over WalMart! It's headed for the parking lot at 600 ft... If it hits the building there may be a freefall collapse...oh the humanity!
I don't see why NORAD has to make a big deal of this. Why can't they find it? They manage to track Santa every year on Christmas Eve.
It is rumored Obama has asked Putin to take control of the blimp...
Only one of these blimps can track 700 refugees.
WTF, how inept and stupid are our leaders? Just shoot it down before it causes big problems.
Looks like dennis Hastert
Paint Obama's face on it and send it going over Russia. They'll shoot it down for sure,
Google Ron Paul!
Conversely, "Google Santorum" for a hoot! Surprisingly, it still works.
quick,.. shoot it down and pack up the electronics and send it to china...
F 16's? They could follow this thing with a Cessna 150.
Just a wild suggestion: Could a helicopter be used to push it down?
It was hijacked by a terrorist who's gonna fly it into a mountain.
Any chance someone tied John McCain to it before it flew away?
terrorists have taken it over and sending it into a tall building
OM, seems we had the same thought at the same time !!
They can remotely control civilian cars and civilian aircraft but they can't control their own blimp?
Perfect moment to prove F35 could win a dogfight
I'm positive an F-35 could bring the blimp down...if the pilot doesn't run out of oxygen first.
It's just trying to get home. Voiceover by Ed Asner.
It was probably like in the movie airplane and some guy asking where the forklift is and the ground control guy with the guiding lights directed it in the opposite direction.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=75Cj8i40cfA
Balloon Boy's father cut the tether whilst Balloon Boy was aboard.
Between a F35 and a Blimb - my money is on the Blimp,,,,
1 lost blimb - check
4 hijacked jumbos - nothing to see here
Evil cnts
How this wasnt found to be a treasonous act is another reason you need to stack ammo, stack gold and prep for the inevitable day they finally come for you too.
First one to the blimp gets all the "real" data.
If someone untied the end like it was a balloon chock full of air, would it go crazily shooting every which-way like a balloon before ending up landing somewhere deflated? That would be so cool.
And shoot flaming helium all over Pennsylvania, causing dogs to panic and women to miscarry?
That would be crazy cool.
Hate to tell you this but Helium doesn't burn...
you work for Hollywood right, everything is a ball of flame when it dies
If it crashes at my house I plan to strip the electronics, clone the memory and sell the remains on Ebay to the highest bidder.
Did this come to mind for anyone else? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiWQZhUmmRw
Did I just hear that it's dragging a steel cable that's causing damage? Just grab the cable and shake it and say, "Down, blimp! Sit! That's a good blimp!"
Tie Hillary to the swinging free cable then forget to look for it.
Senator McCain says the Russians untied it. he says: "Defcon 1, we'll teach them damn Ruskies somethng...."
Actually, it looks like the creatures that inhabit earth 100 million years into the future as shown on an earlier science channel (??) that showed the evolution of life on earth as man disappeared.
Somewhere i hope there is a red neck taking pot shots at the antennas...
let me guess no body in the Government ever thought a balloon could head skyward ?
Yeah, Obama and Killary think they need to take the Peoples' guns, but they lose an entire military blimp that can barely fkng move.
Looks suspiciously like Chris Christie...
He must've broken his moorings at the All-You-Can-Eat Donut Diner on the NJ Turnpike and drifted over to PA.
Chris Christie with an enlarged prostate.
all you .gov bashing, tin foil hat wackos. look at the progress! 14 years ago norad couldn't find four errant passenger jets. today it can catch drifting air balloons in minutes.
The only thing I'm wondering after reading this is: will a .50 caliber round take this thing down? Where do you have to hit it?
Listen, since you guys already probably went there, I'll say it again... this flying spy machine looks like a cock and balls. Did Obama oversee the design of this personally? Modelled it after Mooch?
This proves that, on 9/11, fighter jets could have been sent from the Atlantic City base to New York to intercept the hijacked planes before those planes hit the Twin Towers.
Nah, the official alibi was that our jets were getting an oil change at QwikE lube but Cheney forgot to give Rumsfeld the $20 off coupon and held things up until Silverstein was able to get control of the situation.
The blimp must be a trojan horse for something. Maybe Obama trying to sneak out of the country, or at least away from Moochelle for a few hours.
No doubt stopped in its tracks by a drone bought at Walmart.
If we're lucky, the blimp will collapse into its own footprint. Where's Larry "Pull-it" Silverstein when you need him.
Ahhhh.....when something actually HAS to BE done we scramble the 16 million dollar F16.
But when we go to congress to bilk mre money we blather on about the F35.
Why weren't F35s scrambled? 150mill each, so sophisticated....why?
Because the fucking things are grounded. THEY ARE RESEARCH JUNK.
The Russians and laughing their heads off.
Squid
Looks like "Moby Dick" with balls...
They just want us all to get used to it.
Survailance from above for all cities.
Nothing to worry about. Its all to keep us safe.
Sleep well.