Tri-Service

F-16's Scrambled To Track Runaway Blimp

A US military blimp designed to detect a missile attack that came loose from its mooring is on the ground and secure, state police say.

The blimp is now grounded and secure.

The 243-foot US military blimp called a JLENS that freed itself from its mooring was flying above Pennsylvania directly northeast of Washington D.C., according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)

Two armed F-16 fighters were scrambled amid fears it would endanger air traffic, though these precautions proved unnecessary as the blimp deflated and settled back to Earth on its own.

The blimp which cannot be steered remotely eventually deflated and settled back to Earth on its own, according to Miller.

Before that though the blimp roamed through the skies dragging a 5,000 foot-long chain, destroying electricity cables and leaving 18,000 power outages in its wake.

The JLENS is an Army development, which, according to a March 2014 Government Accountability Office report, cost an estimated $2.78 billion to create. Each unit costs roughly $175 million.

Drag line on property near Bloomsburg, PA. Witness says he saw blimp cable dragging near his home. pic.twitter.com/g30HY5iclC
— Andy Mehalshick (@AndyMehalshick) October 28, 2015

The blimp system is also used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to provide ground surveillance around US bases and other sensitive sites.

It's not known how the aircraft came loose in Maryland, but the governor of Pennsylvania assured the public the military blimp was now "contained".

JLENS aerostat update: Fed authorities and local emergency personnel have confirmed aircraft is contained, no longer moving in Montour Co.
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) October 28, 2015

"My understanding is, from having seen these break loose in Afghanistan on a number of occasions, we could get it to descend and then we'll recover it and put it back up," Defence Secretary Ash Carter told reporters.