Military Blimps Are a Thing and They’re Being Tested in Jersey

The Army has a $517 million spy blimp (for reals) that made it’s maiden voyage in Jersey on Tuesday. It’s technically called a Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle and it can be human-operated or controlled remotely. Apparently it’s useful because it can stay in the air for long periods of time and land without a runway. For the past few months, the Navy has been testing a similar, but smaller blimp in the same area. Still, it’s entirely astonishing that the government spent more than half a billion dollars on a blimp at the base where the Hindenberg blew up in 1937. [Inquirer]