Pentagon confirms Army blimp was shot down

 

The massive Army blimp that broke free from its mooring and drifted from Maryland to Pennsylvania is "actually still deflating," a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday. 

"I am not able to give you the mechanics of exactly how they're deflating it," said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis.   

The blimp traveled almost 200 miles north at 30 miles per hour, reaching an altitude of 16,000 feet before it lost altitude and speed, landing in northeastern Pennsylvania. 

Another Pentagon spokesman confirmed reports that the 240-foot blimp was shot down, but did not know how close to the ground the blimp was when it happened.

It is not clear who shot down the blimp.

The blimp, formally known as an aerostat, was part of a three-year research project for the JLENS program, which stands for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System. 

The system consists of two aerostats: one that provides broad surveillance, and the other that provides more specific surveillance. The blimp that provides more specific surveillance is the one that broke free. 

The blimps were both flying at about 6,800 feet, and were tethered to the ground at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., when one of the cables broke near the base.  

The blimp then drifted along with the about 6,800-foot long cable hanging down. It snapped power lines and left tens of thousands of residents in central Pennsylvania without power. 

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