Chinese Military Blimp Caught On Satellite Images Of Remote Desert Base

Two blimps on the runway on November 4 and 6, 2022. The modern Chinese military blimp, seen for the first time at a remote desert military base outside of Korla, China, is around 100 feet, or 31 meters, long. Courtesy BlackSky  

CNN: Exclusive: Never-before-seen Chinese military blimp caught on satellite images of remote desert base 

A large blimp developed by the Chinese military has been spotted for the first time at a remote base in the desert of northwestern China, exclusive new satellite imagery obtained by CNN shows. 

Aerospace experts say the images, taken three months before a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, could signal a notable advancement in China’s airship program, demonstrating a more versatile and maneuverable craft than previously seen or known. 

The images, taken in November 2022 by US satellite imaging company BlackSky, show a roughly 100-foot long blimp in the middle of a nearly kilometer-long runway at a desert military complex in northwestern China. 

CNN presented the imagery to a number of aerospace experts, who confirmed they show a blimp and runway, bookended by a pivot point used to launch airships, as well as a massive, nearly 900-foot airship hangar.  

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WNU Editor: It looks like the Chinese want to have the same capabilities that the U.S. military have .... Spy balloons, part of Afghanistan’s landscape, stir unease (Seattle Times).

Did The NSA Used A Blimp To 'Spy' In The U.S.?

Raytheon

Ryan Gallagher, The Intercept: NSA Blimp Spied In The United States

TO RESIDENTS OF MARYLAND, catching an occasional glimpse of a huge white blimp floating in the sky is not unusual. For more than a decade, the military has used the state as a proving ground for new airships destined for Afghanistan or Iraq. But less known is that the test flights have sometimes served a more secretive purpose involving National Security Agency surveillance.

Back in 2004, a division of the NSA called the National Tactical Integration Office fitted a 62-foot diameter airship called the Hover Hammer with an eavesdropping device, according to a classified document published Monday by The Intercept. The agency launched the three-engine airship at an airfield near Solomons Island, Maryland. And from there, the blimp was able to vacuum up “international shipping data emanating from the Long Island, New York area,” the document says. The spy equipment on the airship was called Digital Receiver Technology — a proprietary system manufactured by a Maryland-based company of the same name — which can intercept wireless communications, including cellphone calls.

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More News On Reports That The NSA Used A Blimp To Gather Information On Americans

Bulletproof NSA spy blimp that could listen in on cell phone calls 'spied on New York,' shocking leaked documents claim -- Daily Mail
Snowden document: NSA launched spy balloon test from Solomons Island -- Baltimore Sun
The Intercept publishes details on Maryland’s other surveillance blimp -- Baltimore
NSA’s ‘Hover Hammer’ Spied on ‘International’ New York Shipping Data -- Sputnik
The NSA's Eye in the Sky: Blimp Spies on Americans -- New American

France Develops An Airship For Surveillance And Tracking

RT: Solar surveillance: Airship designed for stratospheric snooping enters development stage (VIDEO)

A French weapons manufacturer is developing a stratospheric airship, dubbed the Stratobus, that could act as a high-altitude eye in the sky for government agencies around the world.

The €17 million grant from a French government investment program will go towards what Thales Alenia Space described as a “vehicle halfway between a drone and a satellite.”

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WNU Editor: The company is touting the civilians uses for this airship. But the military applications for this airship .... from observation and tracking to communications and GPS .... are probably its biggest selling points.

Pentagon Has Suspended Its Radar-Carrying Blimp Program (Known As JLENS)

A 2012 report by the Pentagon’s operational testing office faulted the airborne radar system in four “critical performance areas” and rated its reliability as “poor.” (Raytheon)

L.A. Times: Pentagon suspends troubled missile defense system at center of 'runaway blimp'

The Pentagon has suspended indefinitely a trial run of the troubled missile defense system called JLENS, whose giant, radar-carrying blimps were intended to help safeguard the skies over Washington.

The three-year “operational exercise” has been a financial lifeline for JLENS, arranged by supporters of the program after Army leaders tried to kill it.

Any decision whether to resume the exercise will wait until after the Army has completed an investigation into how one of the pilotless blimps broke away from its mooring station in Maryland last week and flew uncontrolled over parts of two mid-Atlantic states, military officials said Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a complete and thorough investigation, and it takes time,” Army spokesman Dov Schwartz said.

Update: Pentagon reportedly suspends missile defense program behind runaway blimp -- FOX News

WNU Editor: This program escaped the latest budget cuts .... Lawmakers Agree To $5 Billion In Defense Cuts, Leave Military Blimp JLENS Totally Untouched (Daily Caller) .... but after the latest fiasco, this program is one step from being terminated.

Days Before This Week's U.S. Blimp Fiasco Another Blimp Accident Caused 5 NATO Fatalities In Afghanistan

Dan Froomkin, The Intercept: Days Before Runaway Military Blimp, Another Blimp Accident in Kabul Killed Five

The runaway military surveillance blimp that came loose from an Army base in Maryland on Wednesday dragged its torn tether through power lines in two Pennsylvania counties before crashing into the woods.

But at least no one died.

The same can’t be said of a recent accident involving a U.S. military blimp in Kabul that constantly hovers over the Afghan capital. (See The Above, a short documentary from The Intercept’s Field of Vision project, also embedded below.)

On Oct. 11, a British military helicopter was coming in for a landing at NATO headquarters, where the blimp is moored. According to an eyewitness who spoke to the BBC, the helicopter hit the tether, which then wrapped itself around the rotors. The helicopter crashed, killing five people — two U.S. service members, two British service members, and a French contract civilian — and injuring five more.

WNU Editor: The NATO accident in Afghanistan in Afghanistan is still under investigation. But what I find interesting about the above video is that when it started to deflate .... all the Afghans were cheering.

Update #1: Blimp fiasco renews criticism of costly military surveillance program (FOX News)
Update #2: Removal of Military Blimp Complete (WNEP)

F-16s Have Been Scrambled To Track A Massive U.S. Army Blimp On The Loose Over Pennsylvania

NBC: Fighter Jets Track Military Blimp Drifting Over Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON — North American Aerospace Defense Command officials tell NBC News that an unmanned Army surveillance blimp that tore loose from its ground tether in Maryland and drifted north is now 16,000 feet over Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Two F-16 fighter jets, scrambled from Atlantic City, are tracking the blimp's course.

The officials say, as of now, the blimp, which is two football fields long and is trailing more than a mile of heavy cable, is holding at a steady altitude and course and presents no imminent threat to any populated areas. NORAD is working closely with the FAA to keep commercial airlines informed of the blimp's location to avoid any close calls. Ground controllers at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where the blimp broke free of its mooring, do have the ability to deflated the helium-filled blimp which could then slowly and presumably safely descend to the ground.

More News On A U.S. Army Blimp On The Loose Over Pennsylvania

Fighter jets track military blimp drifting over Pennsylvania -- AP
Runaway U.S. military blimp protecting DC now over Pennsylvania -- Reuters
The military lost control of a giant, unmanned surveillance blimp -- Washington Post
JLENS Spy Blimp Is on The Loose -- Defense News
Military Blimp Breaks Free From Tether in Maryland -- ABC News
F-16s tracking Army blimp on the loose -- Air Force Times
Fighter jets tracking loose Army blimp over US airspace -- The Hill
This Is How The Army's Loose $2.7 Billion Radar Blimp JLENS Was Supposed To Work -- Foxtrot Alpha
BREAKING: US Military Blimp Loose Over Pennsylvania, F-16s Scrambled -- Defense one
Army Blimp Goes Out of Control, Menacing Towns and Thrilling America -- Daily Beast
243-Foot Military Blimp Breaks Free, Causing Power Outages in Pennsylvania -- Newsweek
A Huge Army Blimp Is on the Loose, Could Be Shot Down -- Popular Mechanics

Huge Blimps Over Washington D.C.

Pentagon To Deploy Huge Blimps Over Washington, DC For 360-Degree Surveillance -- RT

A pair of high-tech Army blimps is coming to the greater Washington, DC area, and soon they will be able to provide the military with surveillance powers that spans hundreds of millions of acres from North Carolina to Niagara Falls, Canada.

The airships are part of Raytheon’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, and when all is said and done they’ll offer the United States military what the defense contractor calls “an affordable elevated, persistent over-the-horizon sensor system” that relies on “a powerful integrated radar system to detect, track and target a variety of threats.”

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More News On The Deployment Of JLENS (Blimps) Over Washington DC

Army’s Giant Surveillance Blimp to Start Tracking Objects in DC Region -- Defense news
The Army’s Giant Spy Blimp Is Coming To The Washington DC Area -- Business Insider
Blimps that can see for 340 miles will soon be deployed as a missile shield over Washington DC -- Daily Mail
It's a bird, it's a plane: No, it's an Army blimp -- USA Today
Those Drone Blimps Over D.C.? They're to Stop Cruise Missiles -- National Journal
Blimps Over Washington: JLENS Brings Football-Field Sized Anti-Missile Aerostats To Spy On, Protect D.C. (PHOTOS) -- Huffington Post
U.S. Army Finishes User Test On JLENS Aerostat System -- Aviation Week
US Army soldiers test JLENS in real-world scenarios -- Wall Street Journal
A Fleet of Blimps Will Soon Serve as a Missile Shield Over Washington -- Gizmodo
New Surveillance Blimp Stays Aloft For 30 Days Straight -- Popular Science
Look! Up in the sky! It's an antimissile blimp! -- CNet
JLENS, the Military Surveillance Airship, Is Ready for Action -- Popular Mechanics

Modern-Day Zeppelins May Help The Royal Navy

By air or by sea: The Hybrid Air Vehicles may provide the Royal Navy with up to three weeks of continuous surveillance

Modern-Day Zeppelins May Help Royal Navy Spy On The Taliban For Three Weeks At A Time -- Daily Mail

Airships may play a crucial role over the front-line of Afghanistan, with the Royal Navy considering the purchase of 'Zeppelin'-style ships to help them spy on the Taliban.

The U.S. Army is already taking advantage of the £60million ships, which can stay in the sky for up to three weeks at a time without refueling.

Flying through the sky at 90mph, the ships can survive the hardships of war, with bullets - and even missiles - able to pass through the vehicles without igniting the gas mixture.

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My Comment: If it works .... why not.

Are Airships Coming Back For The Military?

Airship that can travel over 90mph could by used by Royal Navy

21st Century Airships May Join Navy Fleet -- The Telegraph

A new generation of British-built airships may be bought by the Royal Navy to resupply ships, follwoing their use by the US Army on the front line in Afghanistan.

Modern-day Zeppelins will take to the sky for the first time since the First World War when the US Army begins using airships in Afghanistan.

But Navy chiefs are now giving serious consideration to purchasing an airship from the Bedfordshire-based Hybrid Air Vehicles to provide surveillance and re-supply runs to aircraft carriers, The Daily Telegraph can discose.

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My Comment: The Americans have their own 'air ship/kite' program. It can be read here.

America's Airship Fleet Is modernizing

Blue Devil Block 2 USAF

Blue Devil Airship Is Getting A Super-High-Speed Optical Laser Downlink Upgrade -- Popular Science

The Air Force’s Blue Devil airship--a recent PopSci Best of What’s New recipient and a potential answer to the military’s expanding data glut problem--is getting yet another high-tech upgrade. Via a federal announcement put out last week, The Register reports that DARPA will outfit the Blue Devil Block 2 ISR airship with up to two Free-space Optical Experimental Network Experiment (FOENEX) systems. Think of them like optical lasers that move through the air with the fidelity of a fiber optic cable.

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My Comment: Impressive.

Not Enough Helium To Keep America's Spy Blimps Over Afghanistan

LEMV: Not Your Father's Blimp Lockheed Martin

Military Struggles To Find Helium For Spy Blimp Surge -- Danger Room

The U.S. military is sending so many spy blimps to Afghanistan that industry is scrambling to supply helium and “cannot keep up with the increased demand” for the containers that hold the gas.

That’s according to documents from the Defense Logistics Agency, the Pentagon office responsible for keeping vital supplies flowing to the warzone.

With their ability to stay in the air for days at a time — and hold more spy gear than any drone — aerostats and airships are quickly becoming surveillance tools of choice in the Afghan War. The military carried out three aerostat surges between last fall and this summer; several dozen are deployed in Afghanistan now. But really, that’s just a scene-setter. Early next year, the U.S. military is planning to send not one, but two “freakishly large” airships to the skies above Afghanistan.

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Update: The Military's Airship Renaissance Deflates Over Lack of Access to Helium -- Popular Science

My Comment: Before spending all of this money, you would think someone would have done their homework to find out if a basic resource like Helium would be available. Hmmmm .... apparently this was not done.

Blimps Are Making A Comeback For The Military (Photo Gallery)

Gallery: The Blimps of War -- Danger Room

For seven decades, they were a curiosity, a relic of a lighter-than-air future that never quite came true. But in recent years, airships have once again become a major force in aviation. The Pentagon has gone especially blimp-crazy, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into advanced -- and massive -- surveillance airships that can stay in the sky way longer than any drone. Here are some of the new Blimps of War.

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My Comment: What is old is now new again.

Do Airships Have A Future In The Military?

Up And Away! World's Largest Airship Lifts Off For The First Time -- The Daily Mail

More than 70 years after the Hindenburg disaster ended the golden airship era, giant blimps will take to the skies again with the launch of the world's largest inflatable craft.

The pioneering Bullet 580 is a 235ftlong and 65ft in diameter ship that can lift payloads of 2,000lbs up to 20,000ft in the air.

It was inflated this week inside the Garret Coliseum in Alabama - one of the few facilities large enough to host the ship. The process took the developers at E-Green Technologies just over six hours.

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My Comment: One of the many "shape of things" to come for the military?

Can Airships Defeat Roadside Bombers?

LEMV: Not Your Father's Blimp Lockheed Martin

Airships Can Defeat Roadside Bombers, Says Ex-US Officer -- The Register

'ILLEGAL foot-dragging by air force kills our troops'

An ex-US air force officer has said that unmanned spy airships capable of defeating terrorist/insurgent bombers could have been in service years ago, saving many lives among US and allied troops. He says that the technology was "illegally" sidelined by senior officers determined to preserve satellite and aircraft budgets.

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Update: Ex-Officer Says Air Force's Failure to Deploy Airships Costs Lives -- Popular Science

My Comment: Both articles are eye openers to how the military sometimes functions .... and this is a small military program.

US Army Revives Hybrid Airship Interest With LEMV

©Lockheed Martin

From Flight Global:

Reviving interest in untethered lighter-than-air technology after a half-century hiatus, the US Army in January will kick-off a process to buy a long-endurance hybrid airship to deploy within 18 months to Afghanistan for surveillance missions.

Space and Missile Defense Command will issue a request for proposals for the long-endurance multi-intelligence vehicle (LEMV) contract on 29 January, the agency says.

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My Comment: What is old is new now .... but with modern tech. Hmmm .... Count von Zeppelin must be laughing right now.