JLENS_ The Future of Defense
- 9 years ago
The military surveillance blimp that broke free of its mooring at Aberdeen Proving Ground Wednesday morning has returned to Earth after a four-hour, 160-mile, power line-snapping odyssey, authorities said.
NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek said the runaway aircraft was on the ground near Moreland Township, Pa. — 160 miles north of its mooring in Edgewood — and was deflating. The blimp had slowly been losing helium, he said, and appears to have drifted to the ground.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Angela Bieber said the balloon was "contained."
"It is no longer moving," she said.
Beiber said police had not received any reports of injuries. She said the military was trying to recover the blimp.
"It's still definitely in progress," she said.
The 243-foot-long, helium-filled JLENS aerostat, part of an over-the-horizon surveillance system being tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground, detached from its mooring in Edgewood at about 11:54 a.m., a spokeswoman for the Army installation said.
NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek said the runaway aircraft was on the ground near Moreland Township, Pa. — 160 miles north of its mooring in Edgewood — and was deflating. The blimp had slowly been losing helium, he said, and appears to have drifted to the ground.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Angela Bieber said the balloon was "contained."
"It is no longer moving," she said.
Beiber said police had not received any reports of injuries. She said the military was trying to recover the blimp.
"It's still definitely in progress," she said.
The 243-foot-long, helium-filled JLENS aerostat, part of an over-the-horizon surveillance system being tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground, detached from its mooring in Edgewood at about 11:54 a.m., a spokeswoman for the Army installation said.