Blimps to Defend Washington, D.C. Airspace

Blimps are experiencing a bit of a renaissance. Montabello, Calif.-based Aeros recently said it was working on a rigid airship that could fly like a plane and float like a balloon. And now, Raytheon has just finished testing a military aerostat that, starting next year, will serve as a first line of defense for the nation's capital.

It's called JLENS (Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor), and it's a pair of radar-equipped helium blimps tethered to the ground that give personnel the ability to see further away than with ground-based radar. The two blimps work together with one using radar to "see" an enemy target and the other guiding a missile to destroy it. Read more...