Raytheon Will Test Anti-Missile Blimps Over Washington

Blimps were supposed to be the military’s Next Big Thing. Not the German military circa 1933, but the U.S. military in the 21st century. Defense contractors have spent the last decade designing football field-long, helium-filled balloons with radar that can track planes, trains, automobiles—and especially missiles. Yet one by one, the projects have floated away, victims of missed budgets and deadlines. One of the few left goes by the catchy title Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, which its manufacturer, Raytheon, calls JLENS for short.

In 2007 the plan was to develop the surveillance technology and produce 32 of the blimps for about $6 billion. Five years and $1.9 billion later, the U.S. Army had four it could test. A January report by the Pentagon’s director of equipment testing cited early problems with the blimps’ “friendly aircraft identification capabilities” and “noncooperative target recognition.” Translation: They had trouble reliably spotting certain friends and foes.