Army Spy Blimp Tested Over New Jersey

Townhall Staff | August 10, 2012 9:00 AM

The United States Army recently tried out an expensive new purchase in the skies of New Jersey. The Army’s spy blimp took flight for the first time on Tuesday evening. NBC New York

reported on the event:

The Army is testing its $517 million spy blimp in the skies over the New Jersey military base where the German airship Hindenburg crashed in 1937.

The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle spent more than 90 minutes around Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Ocean County on Tuesday.

Manufacturer Northrop Grumman says the 302-foot long airship is designed to be a high altitude observation platform.

It can be operated by a crew or by remote control.

The LEMV project was agreed to in June of 2010 with Afghanistan in mind. This would seem to indicate that the giant blimp will be used exclusively overseas, making Tuesday’s flight a one-time occurrence inside the United States. Only time will tell if this LEMV remains exclusive to the military or eventually gets used like a domestic drone by Washington bureaucrats. Below is a video of the test flight from USA Today , just in case you want to know what this blimp would look like floating over your home.