Pentagon Sends Blimps to Battle Roadside Bombs in Afghanistan - AOL News: "A type of aircraft dating back more than 100 years, blimps were used in World War I to drop bombs and conduct reconnaissance over enemy territory. Now, updated versions are making a comeback in military operations in Afghanistan.
As troops face a deadly escalation in roadside bombings, the U.S. military is responding with a new surveillance system featuring tethered, sensor-equipped blimps to protect forward operating bases by monitoring the ground below.
Alison Miller, Sky Sentry LLC / U.S. Army
The Pentagon is sending blimps, like the one pictured, to Afghanistan to serve as surveillance systems for roadside bombs.
The unmanned airships, also called aerostats, are just one of the technologies the Pentagon is rushing to Afghanistan in the hopes of battling the rise in homemade bombs, which continue to be the top killer of U.S. and allied troops fighting the Taliban insurgency. In the Persistent Ground Surveillance System, these lighter-than-air vehicles are equipped with day and night cameras and combined with a ground control station."
