The two leaders of the House Oversight Committee are questioning whether a military blimp program is worth the cost, after the system got loose last week and knocked out power for thousands in Pennsylvania.
Specifically, Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., are bringing scrutiny on the $2.7 billion program, which is intended for surveillance for missile defense.
In letters last week to Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Chaffetz and Cummings also noted that the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System also failed to detect a small gyrocopter that breached restricted airspace and landed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in April.
The letters seek briefings from both officials for committee staff by Thursday, along with documents related to the cost, deployment and testing of the program.
The blimp, which broke loose from its moorings at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland on Wednesday, is one of four built for the Army at a cost of $175 million each. They are designed to work in pairs, carrying radar systems up to 10,000 feet to provide early warning of attack by missile and aircraft and remaining airborne for up to 30 days at a time. The blimp was deflated and brought down in a rural area of Pennsylvania.
