(December 21, 2014 at 2:59 pm)Alice Wrote: They should have those things... they hopefully do... but on the other hand: it could establish a concerning precedent for watching one's own people...
Especially since the actual threat of cruise missiles is so low.
Well, we do -- but they're mounted on airplanes that are very expensive to operate. I'm guessing that the purpose of mounting this system on a pair of static-line balloons is to achieve big operational savings.
Reading up on the thing, the trial run, with the two aerostats, is projected to provide look-down radar coverage from New England to the Carolinas.
As for watching one's own people, blimps seem pretty both relatively expensive, and inefficient. Low-cost remote webcams specifically placed to spy on a target would be much more suitable than blimp-mounted sensors, which could be defeated by such simple expedients as switching cars or transacting your illicit business in a parking garage.
