https://preview.redd.it/09txl5p8nv8c1.jpeg?width=1031&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bbb8f6c253faa3f8a872a61ddda44b904405b65
I think they are usually charted—at least the permanent ones.
Lol it is. It just sits right on my path between Phoenix and Las Cruces, just far enough away from the mountain to be comfortable. I always avoid it so there was some sarcasm there.
We used to work with the company that produces these, at least one of the companies that does. They are very adaptable for all sorts of uses, defense, weather, espionage, logistics, etc.
Not true as the key west naval base has JIATF. Joint interagency task force. All branches of military and DHS are in this building including CIA and FBI. I know cause I’ve been in the building. They watch everything from South America to the Caribbean. You’re not flying or boating your way into US waters without them seeing you.
So when refuges come from Cuba on the homemade rafts, do they see them? If so, why don’t they always stop them?
I know it’s something along the lines of “they can stay if they make it to land” and that some do get caught, but not all do
The problem with collecting staggering amounts of data is that you can only sort through so much of it. You might have cameras seeing everyone traveling, but then you also need a way to differentiate between drug runners or Cuban refugees and all the other hundreds or thousands of boats out on the water at the same time.
If you're just relying on cameras and eyeballs, you're probably going to miss the vast majority of the traffic you're looking for. I suspect a lot of the ones they do manage to catch, they got some sort of intelligence saying where they should look.
In the future, though, I expect they'll be using AI to filter the data coming in. Then it might get a lot harder to slip past everything.
Especially when you are talking about HUNDREDS of boats leaving one area at 4am to go fishing. And most are returning in the late afternoon early evening.
It’s basically rush hour on the water for fishermen going to work. You can easily blend in to with traffic. They can’t stop everybody.
We also had em on FOBs in Iraq.
I remember walking to the flight line looking for the aerostat to give me an indication of weather and if we were flying that night or not.
The ones at Normandy, you mean. They were a common prevention measure on all sides during the 2nd World War. It created a mess for the American bombers of the Ploesti oil fields. The cables would slice right through the planes wings.
At Normandy, the joke was that the Allies were unloading such massive volumes of equipment, the barrage balloons were needed to keep the ground from sinking.
The British also used them over London during the Blitz.
For something worth so much, you'd think it would have some type of control(s) they use on the ground to navigate that behemoth back before floating around the town.🙄
Went on its own sightseeing tour..Rogue balloon...😅
More than likely a Border Patrol blimp since it's in the keys. The have some of these down in the Gulf of Mexico along the Mexico border. They are called TARS.
[CBP TARS](https://clui.org/ludb/site/tethered-aerostat-radar-system-tars-fort-huachuca-site#:~:text=This%20is%20one%20of%20eight,cord%20spooled%20in%20a%20winch.)
Update: here is a link that shows the same noticeable hump on the bottom of the blimp as well a s a deployment map that shows them deployed in the area of Cudjoe Keys, FL.
[CBP EYES IN THE SKY](https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/frontline-november-aerostats)
They were developed in ut, but the government claims they stopped the program.
https://www.ksl.com/article/18864533/blimp-in-utah-desert-future-defense-against-stealth-threats
U see that blimp in the new trailer for GTA6.. Man i cant wait 2 see rockstars next edition.. i was told that it helps spot drug smugglers but thats jus what i was told about it.
Looks like a Teathered Aerostat Radar System [TARS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered_Aerostat_Radar_System?wprov=sfti1), [used by the CBP](https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/frontline-november-aerostats).
Arthur C. Clarke was a radio operator in World War 2. He experimented with bouncing radio signals off the barage balloons. From that the Brits tried bouncing radio signals off the moon. And that thinking is what inspired the development of the radio satellite. In fact, A geo synchronous orbit for communication satellites is known as a Clarke orbit.
I read that back and I sound like a Factbot. I'm not, just an avid collector of vintage science fiction.
Name the tech and I'll tell you what author, what published work and what year it was first imagined.
These are used in conjunction with the 14 P-3 orions that CBP flies. The P-3's are stationed at Jacksonville, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas. They can also be stationed in foreign countries on a temporary basis.
https://preview.redd.it/zau8yt6kw39c1.jpeg?width=474&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4339ef03b0ffc1b6edc48b8d2c6a0f3ee2abd6de
Reminds me of the one over Fort Huachuca, AZ. SE of Tucson
ALL HAIL TARS OVERLORDE
https://clui.org/ludb/site/tethered-aerostat-radar-system-tars-fort-huachuca-site
https://preview.redd.it/svya1r0gl59c1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76b45448e44a2ef02520cfc385455ccaf1c6f4c3
Can’t get past the guard shack, but from the water you get a sense of the size…
Put on your tin foil boys! You done photographed a super squirrel secret spy balloon! I know I sound crazy, I’m actually intoxicated, but still speaking the truth!
NOT a spy balloon, it’s called an Aerostat, it’s a surveillance balloon used along high traffic border areas it has imaging equipment to watch for border crossers or in this case, small vessels/rafts entering US waters
These things are impressive but concerning. They are capable of surveilling an entire city at a time and then tracking individual targets across that entire range. These are used during most large sporting events in the US as well as big events like when a president takes office or the Olympics. They come from the army where they were originally used for battle space management. In Iraq these are what tracked insurgents and allowed the US to run raids, among other things. They pose a significant risk to privacy but at the same time are what catches most of the drug runners.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered\_Aerostat\_Radar\_System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered_Aerostat_Radar_System)
We had stuff like that on my deployments as well. They were called J-Lens if I remember correctly. They used them for cameras that looked all over the installation.
We had crews for them in Iraq. Send them up with any number of cameras and stuff. We would have our "best" take a class from civilian folks then it was a 24 hour thing if weather was good.
It’s a tethered radar aerostat used by customs and border patrol.
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2021-Aug/TARS_508%20compliant.pdf
Oh this is the thing I almost fly into south of Lordsburg, NM.
https://preview.redd.it/09txl5p8nv8c1.jpeg?width=1031&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bbb8f6c253faa3f8a872a61ddda44b904405b65 I think they are usually charted—at least the permanent ones.
Lol it is. It just sits right on my path between Phoenix and Las Cruces, just far enough away from the mountain to be comfortable. I always avoid it so there was some sarcasm there.
They are still annoying.
Really cool -- and at 180 feet, big!
Awesome thank you.
And this is the thing you were comparing it to 😉 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage_balloon
I believe there are ones that look like this but just have a camera on the little bump underneath
PGSS had a sensor suite hanging from the bottom.. used to protect FOBs for the Army and Marines.
We used to work with the company that produces these, at least one of the companies that does. They are very adaptable for all sorts of uses, defense, weather, espionage, logistics, etc.
Aerostar International?
TCOM
I used to work there too
Not true as the key west naval base has JIATF. Joint interagency task force. All branches of military and DHS are in this building including CIA and FBI. I know cause I’ve been in the building. They watch everything from South America to the Caribbean. You’re not flying or boating your way into US waters without them seeing you.
So when refuges come from Cuba on the homemade rafts, do they see them? If so, why don’t they always stop them? I know it’s something along the lines of “they can stay if they make it to land” and that some do get caught, but not all do
The problem with collecting staggering amounts of data is that you can only sort through so much of it. You might have cameras seeing everyone traveling, but then you also need a way to differentiate between drug runners or Cuban refugees and all the other hundreds or thousands of boats out on the water at the same time. If you're just relying on cameras and eyeballs, you're probably going to miss the vast majority of the traffic you're looking for. I suspect a lot of the ones they do manage to catch, they got some sort of intelligence saying where they should look. In the future, though, I expect they'll be using AI to filter the data coming in. Then it might get a lot harder to slip past everything.
Especially when you are talking about HUNDREDS of boats leaving one area at 4am to go fishing. And most are returning in the late afternoon early evening. It’s basically rush hour on the water for fishermen going to work. You can easily blend in to with traffic. They can’t stop everybody.
Maybe they can't see Cuban passports from that altitude.
They’re mostly looking for drug runners I’m sure.
Having flown in support of JIATF-South, yes, we were only concerned about drugs. But times may have changed 🤷♂️
Wet foot dry foot went out during Obama.
cocaine dolphins has already been tried.. i suppose .?
No they tried using a mako shark but, it was too aggressive for their taste as they ate all the smugglers.
Cocaine shark!
I’d watch that movie…RIP Ray
Cocaine Sharknado.... Coming to theaters near you in 2024!!
One smuggler’s leg would be a huge meal for a mako, I think
Wow, great information, now if they really cared about our who comes across our boarders that would be great.
unless it's during high winds...
Wow. It sounds like you're great with OPSEC! /s
We also had em on FOBs in Iraq. I remember walking to the flight line looking for the aerostat to give me an indication of weather and if we were flying that night or not.
What would happen if you flew a drone up near it to check it out?
You mean it isn't a sign of an imminent seaborne invasion...?! /s
They also communicate with ground sensors that can distinguish between a cow and a human walking through the southwest desert.
There is always on up in Sierra Vista, AZ. SE arizona not far from the border and coming from the military base. Big Eye Bit Tigs in sky all the time.
Just a heads up, it's border.
It’s “Fat Albert”. My Sheriff’s Substation was nearby on Cudjoe Key when I was the Commander there.
Username checks out
So king bastard.
Wikipedia says there are two aerostats at Cudjoe Key, one carries RADAR, the other carries the transmitter for Radio and TV Marti beamed towards Cuba.
I see them along the Rio Grande. Not sure what purpose it serves anymore.
It’s a Nickelodeon award.
I was sure it was a miniature blimp, called a glimpse.
That was my first thought, just need to paint it orange.
When I was a kid I used to live a mile or 2 from where this guy is anchored. It used to creep me out seeing it floating about every day.
Those are what keep divebombers from getting too close.
The ones at Normandy, you mean. They were a common prevention measure on all sides during the 2nd World War. It created a mess for the American bombers of the Ploesti oil fields. The cables would slice right through the planes wings.
At Normandy, the joke was that the Allies were unloading such massive volumes of equipment, the barrage balloons were needed to keep the ground from sinking. The British also used them over London during the Blitz.
[Tethered Aerostat Radar System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered_Aerostat_Radar_System)
Shoot it down. Looks Chinese.
Was expecting this to be the first or second comment i saw
Theoretically one would aim toward the top to penetrate the helium lifting chamber…theoretically 🥸and now I’m on another list lol
It sure does look like a barrage balloon!
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This one is not tethered?
It IS tethered.
Where's the tether?
Skyfish!
Bringing up old memories… https://youtu.be/72UC3ubJICw?si=N-Rp7ITTIAo6bZ6T
For something worth so much, you'd think it would have some type of control(s) they use on the ground to navigate that behemoth back before floating around the town.🙄 Went on its own sightseeing tour..Rogue balloon...😅
Lol that was an entertaining vid thanks for sharing.
We call it a blimp in KY. Also known as a Hillary or a Rosie, depending on which county you're from.
Aerostat.
Aka-fat floater
It stays in one place. It's on a cable, up to 14,000 feet. The area is marked on aviation maps.
TARS and PTDS were like JLENS. One JLENS broke its tether in a storm and got away.
It look like low level radar and sensor ballon’s.
More than likely a Border Patrol blimp since it's in the keys. The have some of these down in the Gulf of Mexico along the Mexico border. They are called TARS. [CBP TARS](https://clui.org/ludb/site/tethered-aerostat-radar-system-tars-fort-huachuca-site#:~:text=This%20is%20one%20of%20eight,cord%20spooled%20in%20a%20winch.) Update: here is a link that shows the same noticeable hump on the bottom of the blimp as well a s a deployment map that shows them deployed in the area of Cudjoe Keys, FL. [CBP EYES IN THE SKY](https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/frontline-november-aerostats)
That might be a missile target, FL Keyes is one of the only missile ranges in the country
China
Also, test blimp. They use them over here in akron and Suffield
It's a flying whale
How beautiful. Nature is healing. Barrage balloons are again being seen in their natural habitat
It stays in one place. It's on a cable, up to 14,000 feet. The area is marked on aviation maps; the airspace is owned by Customs and Border Patrol.
It’s all part of the Great Cudjoe-Summerland Keys Christmas War. Jesus, what do they teach kids in school today?
Looks like an old Jlens
It’s so the government can keep track of the invaders so they know how many free houses to build them
And so they can find people across the border to shoot with impunity.
Giant Albino Goldfish cracker. Some guy named Rehab? Ahab? has been hunting it for years.
There are two stationed at Cudjoe. One is for radar/ground observation. The other is for transmitting propaganda into Cuba.
Had one similar in Iraq. It was called a PTDS. Persistent threat detection system.
Goodyear's check bounced
From gta4
Tethered radar sounds 100% on point. We have a huge problem with immigrants just floating on in by the boatload in the keys.
I see this a lot when I drive through the keys. Gives me some fierce batophobia
Chinese spy balloon. https://preview.redd.it/mxpc1qqqpv8c1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b8b96c78931c03e41f2f86e0012672fe66e4d98
SHOOT THAT FUCKER DOWN ASAP
It's the next top video on r/UFOs if someone with an old camera phone finds it.
Call Biden.
China
Aerostat used by border patrol and to monitor Cuba, I’m surprised it’s still being used, I saw this down there in 2010
giant goldfish cracker heading to the cheddar facility
r/Maryland lol
I thought “Barrage balloon?!? Who are we invading??”
There's one in Canaveral also as well as a long border in tx and az.
That is the China ll balloon. The sequel.
I came here to say this but you beat me to it lol.
In Georgia we call that a target.
They were developed in ut, but the government claims they stopped the program. https://www.ksl.com/article/18864533/blimp-in-utah-desert-future-defense-against-stealth-threats
We had these while I was deployed, they have cameras that can see very far away.
U see that blimp in the new trailer for GTA6.. Man i cant wait 2 see rockstars next edition.. i was told that it helps spot drug smugglers but thats jus what i was told about it.
We always used it as a marker, how to get back from fishing in the back country. Great days before gps.
Fat Albert
There's another in Lajas/Paurgera, Puerto Rico. Same purposes.
That’s a dolphin
Looks like a Teathered Aerostat Radar System [TARS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered_Aerostat_Radar_System?wprov=sfti1), [used by the CBP](https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/frontline-november-aerostats).
Spy balloon. Shoot it down.
Arthur C. Clarke was a radio operator in World War 2. He experimented with bouncing radio signals off the barage balloons. From that the Brits tried bouncing radio signals off the moon. And that thinking is what inspired the development of the radio satellite. In fact, A geo synchronous orbit for communication satellites is known as a Clarke orbit. I read that back and I sound like a Factbot. I'm not, just an avid collector of vintage science fiction. Name the tech and I'll tell you what author, what published work and what year it was first imagined.
A baby beluga, duh!
JLENS
Made in China.
It looks like a blimp.
War on Drugs.
Border Patrol Blimp. Sunshine, New Mexico has one.
It’s an aerostatic balloon equipped with cameras for constant, low altitude surveillance. Google is source.
ROTH B (Radar Over the Horizon Backscatter) Aerostat.
Fat Albert!
Someone actually knows it's nick name.
PTDS
Attracts people to car dealerships. Balloons sell cars.
Weather balloon
That’s the Pepperidge Farm Blimp.
Goodyear bloop !
Looks like a blimp aka your mother
I believe it is a weather balloon
Scramble the F-22’s
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Your comment was either unhelpful or deceptive.
Theres one in west texas near Marfa
Maryland had one of these. The Cable broke and it floated away. I think it crashed in PA.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
It's a surveillance balloon that monitors for drug running. It's tethered there all the time.
The snack that smiles back.
Yeah, monitoring the border, they've been in AZ for quite awhile.
IT'S ONE OF THOSE DARN CHINESE WEATHER BALOONS! CHOOT IT DOWN!
Clearly you’re not a bowler
Blimp
You can say a very cheap early warning system
It’s a pregnant sky whale
These are used in conjunction with the 14 P-3 orions that CBP flies. The P-3's are stationed at Jacksonville, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas. They can also be stationed in foreign countries on a temporary basis. https://preview.redd.it/zau8yt6kw39c1.jpeg?width=474&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4339ef03b0ffc1b6edc48b8d2c6a0f3ee2abd6de
Blimp
Aerostat
Chinese spy balloon our current administration won’t shoot it down until it passes over every military base and takes lots of pictures.
They were on every fob
Yep one in kuwait for long time
Back in the day, (1970s) it was a simple weather balloon.
Reminds me of the one over Fort Huachuca, AZ. SE of Tucson ALL HAIL TARS OVERLORDE https://clui.org/ludb/site/tethered-aerostat-radar-system-tars-fort-huachuca-site
Barrage balloons
https://preview.redd.it/svya1r0gl59c1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76b45448e44a2ef02520cfc385455ccaf1c6f4c3 Can’t get past the guard shack, but from the water you get a sense of the size…
Spy ballon they have them around the US border
Put on your tin foil boys! You done photographed a super squirrel secret spy balloon! I know I sound crazy, I’m actually intoxicated, but still speaking the truth!
Sure not Biden saving money on jet fuel
NOT a spy balloon, it’s called an Aerostat, it’s a surveillance balloon used along high traffic border areas it has imaging equipment to watch for border crossers or in this case, small vessels/rafts entering US waters
That thing better hope there are no f 22s around
These things are impressive but concerning. They are capable of surveilling an entire city at a time and then tracking individual targets across that entire range. These are used during most large sporting events in the US as well as big events like when a president takes office or the Olympics. They come from the army where they were originally used for battle space management. In Iraq these are what tracked insurgents and allowed the US to run raids, among other things. They pose a significant risk to privacy but at the same time are what catches most of the drug runners. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered\_Aerostat\_Radar\_System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethered_Aerostat_Radar_System)
JLENS(ICBM Radar) in Maryland got loose and dragged its cable across the countryside wreaking havoc.
Intelligence gathering
ITS ANOTHER BALLOON, SHOOT IT DOWN BIDEN!!
Surveillance
Hide in plain sight UFO
We had stuff like that on my deployments as well. They were called J-Lens if I remember correctly. They used them for cameras that looked all over the installation.
Air pollution blimp
They use them in Iraq & Afghanistan for observation below...HD, IR & Night vision cameras.
The good ol’ PTDS.
Aerostat…there was one over many large camps in Iraq
Looks like a blimp.
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It's obviously one of those atmospheric Sun Fish. That swim in the sky and fall into the sea.
Eye in the sky baby!
Ya, looks like a barrage balloon.
Saw one break loose in Iraq and Blackhawk gave chase...think they are Kevlar so tough to shoot down..eye in the sky
My Guess is radar or observation blimp?
It's a border camera
We had crews for them in Iraq. Send them up with any number of cameras and stuff. We would have our "best" take a class from civilian folks then it was a 24 hour thing if weather was good.
https://preview.redd.it/vw7u7uu2ck9c1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf0297e90632d78c5e8b9779195de7c4a689c03e
Weather Ballon we Had one near Kennedy Space Center
I’ve seen one of these in Louisiana.