It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a...
A military blimp, patrolling the Florida Straits
The Skyship 600 used to soar over crowds, sporting a FujiFilm logo as it hovered over outdoors events -- an unavoidable form of advertising.
But the helium-filled manned blimp ditched the logo and launched Tuesday morning from Naval Air Station Key West on Boca Chica Key.
Over the next six weeks, pilots and crew of the Skyship 600 will patrol over the Straits of Florida to test the airship's effectiveness in spotting drug runners and alien smugglers.
It's the first time since 1962 the military has employed a blimp for security purposes.
The U.S. Coast Guard, which is partnering with the Navy and the National Office of Global Maritime Situational Awareness on the blimp experiment, says the Keys testing is to determine how well the blimp might do at "nationwide applications."....
... will serve as support crew. The Skyship 600 is owned and operated by Airship Management Services Inc. of Greenwich, Conn., and leased by the Navy. The blimp will fly eight-hour shifts through mid-August...
No comments:
Post a Comment