19th Century Airship Technology for Port Security

fenimor writes "Airships - known today mainly for advertising flyovers at football games - are the core of a new coastal surveillance system in development for the the U.S. Department of Defense. These stationary platforms 25 times the size of a Goodyear blimp will be equipped with an array of cutting-edge equipment for remote sensing, communications, and risk analysis, providing surveillance coverage over a surface area of 500,000 square miles from an altitude of 70,000 feet."

Comments

Almost as good as Anatidocphobia

[ackthpt]

2005: Somewhere, somehow a blimp is watching YOU!

Currently the USCG employes a pair of blimps "Fat Albert" on Cudjoe Key to watch for dope smugglers, air traffic, etc.

Ob: SovietRussia: For Soviet Russia YOU spy on the blimp!

Duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

It really is SO obvious that they need to put some giant laserbeams on this shit.

As long as....

[IanDanforth]

I can find out where they are and have the option of not being tracked I'm ok with this. Otherwise we just have Big Brother gone lighter than air. -I

Great...

[Izago909]

So now we have even more national security data that we can't monitor in real time. What good is all this info supposed to be if we can't use it to stop a problem before it happens? Technology is great at recording, storing, and retrieving information, but I don't see a database server walking down to the beach to make an arrest. Are the politicians considering an increase in the Coast Guard, Port Authority, and other applicable agencies? If not, all this new technology won't do much good.

Repairs?

[Paster Of Muppets]

Hmm... Operating at 70,000 feet? How the hell are you meant to repair them? Bringing it back down for maintenance is the only option I can think of, and that will severely reduce your observational capabilities there.

Also, what if it gets punctured or damaged while at 70,000 feet? Will there be an immediate action plan to send up a replacement? As it's unmanned, I guess this means that every little defect requires a ground-based overhaul?

Personally, I don't see it working at the moment.

Finally I can sleep soundly

[Hoplite3]

Whew! Total safety is so close I can taste it! Thanks, guys. Without your cameras everywhere, we'd all be blown up tomorrow. (Well, I'm not sure the one in my bathroom is necessary, but I do store bleach there and it could be used as a weapon if terrorists break into my house.)

Cheaper Solutions

[Lev13than]

There are much cheaper alternatives in the works, such as the High Frequency Surface Wave Radar being developed by Raytheon Canada and Defence Research Development Canada.

The big problem with conventional radar is that it only works in line-of-site, but Raytheon's SWR-503 Surface Wave Radar uses high-frequency radar waves that "wrap" around the curvature of the earth. The system has been proven to detect and track aircraft, surface vessels and icebergs out to 500 km from the shore in a sector of up to 120 degrees. Suspicious objects can be investigated by satellite, surface ship, patrol aircraft or very cheaply & covertly via unmanned drone.

Canada plans to install an array of radar installations along the East Coast in order to provide a seamless picture of all maritime activity occuring in the country's economic zone. Similar research is being carried out in the US, Australia and other countries. This seems like a much more effective use of resources than a massive blimp installation