A military surveillance blimp broke loose from its post at Aberdeen Proving Ground in northeastern Maryland late Wednesday morning and has already drifted more than 100 miles northwest into Pennsylvania.
Two F-16 fighter jets have been deployed to monitor the blimp and ensure air traffic safety. The 243-foot-long, helium-filled blimp came untethered shortly after noon, quickly ascending to 16,000 feet and moving uncontrollably over New England.
“We can get it to descend and then we’ll recover it and put it back up again,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “This happens in bad weather, we had experience with aerostats of that kind in Afghanistan, so it does happen, but it is an important capability.”
Holly Starr shared this great picture of fall foliage near Bloomsburg PA moments ago. Oh yeah,&the ROGUE BLIMP too! pic.twitter.com/RdWLLxVi8o
— the Weatherboy (@theWeatherboy) October 28, 2015
CNN reported that the blimp descended to about 6,000 feet by 3 p.m. Wednesday and that the tethering cables are dragging on the ground in Pennsylvania, causing power outages and posing a public safety concern.
The blimp is known as a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, and is used for surveillance. The military refers to it as an aerostat because it is supposed to be tethered, and says it “enables protection from a wide variety of threats to include manned and unmanned aircraft, cruise missiles, and surface moving targets like swarming boats and tanks.”
The sensor system is a set of two tethered aerostats that are meant to float at about 10,000 feet. Each is about the size of a football field and can protect an area roughly the size of Texas from airborne threats, according to Raytheon, which makes the aerostat. The 360-degree radar cover provided by the system can detect things like missiles and manned or unmanned aircraft from more than 300 miles away, giving officials more time to respond to threats.
It can remain airborne for 30 days at a time to provide coverage, the site says.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command said it is closely tracking the blimp’s movements.
“[North American Aerospace Defense Command] 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,” a NORAD statement said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also issued a statement assuring residents that the situation is under control.
“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.”
A Twitter account for the blimp, established before Wednesday’s mishap, had plenty to say about the escape.
Peace out losers.
— GhostofAberdeenBlimp (@AberdeenBlimp) October 28, 2015
Jacqueline Klimas contributed to this report
