Blimp in Kuwait
The other day while at work some people said they saw a blimp in the sky. I tried looking for it but supposedly it had disappeared behind some buildings. No one believed them of course including me, that is until today. On my way to the north I spotted a huge blimp in what looks like a US military base. Its to the left of the 6th Ring Road past highway 80. I quickly pulled out my camera and took the picture above. I wonder what its used for and what was it doing in Kuwait City the other day?
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Jan 26, 2008
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24 Comments, add your own...
1. Random | January 26th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
http://www.aerosml.com/military.asp they are used for the military. Click on the link for more information :)
2. Mortz | January 26th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
We went driving in the desert yesterday (on the ridges you can see behind the blimp) and one of the guys with us mentioned it is an early warning system with radar housed on the underside of the blimp which can detect Iraqi and Iranian aircraft movements.
It is apparently fixed to a cable and raised and lowered when needed. He did mention however that it breaks down quite often and spends a lot of time on the ground…? Whether this is fact or not I don’t know.
3. pinky | January 26th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Mark, how long have you been in this country??
The Blimp’s been there for years and years (may even have been one pre-invasion if I remember right) It’s on a Kuwaiti training camp of sorts I think! I did hear a funny story about it blowing away once but as this is Kuwait I took that story with a lorry load of salt!
Pinky
4. Armani Exchanger | January 26th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
chillout guys,,, they just want to measure our unusual cold weather parameters :P
5. yo-ghurt | January 26th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I posted on this in 2006
http://www.stillkuwaiting.com/2006/12/01/dirigible-near-mutlaa-ridge-kuwait/
Apparently it’s used for high-tech surveillance. It only goes up and down though, you won’t see it flying over Kuwait!
6. TRiPLE M | January 26th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
There is one near by my house in Jahra and it was there long time ago.
7. Tan Go | January 26th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
A number of Blimps were set up in Kuwait and Iraq in mid 2005 to improve UHF and VHF communications for US army units. (In other words, to improve non-line of sight communications). They run without refueling for about 3 weeks. If wind speed is high, they must be tied to the ground.
Blimps normally fly at about 200-300 meters. They will function even with a hole of up to 10 cms (like if someone shoots at it); and need a small-patch airport area to operate and service. Naturally they are fitted with some weather and telemetry equipment.
The nearest mooring station to Kuwait city is in a small rocket base area that you can see to your left while driving from North Sabhan to join the 7th ring road on the way to Ahmadi.
Cost, with ground electronics, is approximatelt $ 4 mion!
Guess who is paying!! *wink*
8. UncleBenz | January 26th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Be carefull when taking pics of military basis .. unless you want to review the Shawerma of Guantanamo lol
9. AMQ | January 27th, 2008 at 12:03 am
i think i saw this thing on the discovery channel once…i cant remember what it was used for but i think (im not sure) that its a spy thing…its got a camera of some sort in it…im not 100%on that though
10. Z District | January 27th, 2008 at 12:17 am
ALL YOUR BASES BELONG TO US!
11. 3azeez | January 27th, 2008 at 1:10 am
i think thats a radar and we had one since before the invasion (actually we had couple, one was destroyed by the iraqis, one was simply “lost” in the sky after the invation, and i guess this one).
12. Istiminkiliz | January 27th, 2008 at 1:26 am
lol @ uncle benz
13. Co0oLy | January 27th, 2008 at 2:04 am
It is for the kuwait army …
this base is belong to “ma’3weer”
14. radiant guy | January 27th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Simply to monitor the Kuwaiti Iraqi borders :D
15. Damon Dash | January 27th, 2008 at 2:35 am
yes LOL UncleBenz
16. abdvllah | January 27th, 2008 at 7:18 am
“Oh the humanity!”
17. 214b | January 27th, 2008 at 7:18 am
I love that everyone has a different, definitive explanation for the blimp :-)
18. decapitated.jesus | January 27th, 2008 at 10:18 am
if you look close enough, double D perhaps?
19. mentabolism | January 27th, 2008 at 10:34 am
was this the UFO that some guy saw and was reported in the papers..
20. Desert Girl | January 27th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Unclebenz is right: Be careful with publishing these photos. Dudes take photography of “installations” seriously. If you get closer to this area, there are signs posted that photography isn’t allowed.
21. TweeZ | January 27th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
deer balik ya Mark!
22. Mohammed | January 27th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Mark, it seems that the muba7ith will be passing by your home. Taking pictures of this place is restricted plus posting this picture with its directions and location. “Allah Yaster” illmuhim be cautious on what you post :)
23. Tan Go | January 27th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
214b, there are many uses for the Blimp. I have seen one used as a restaurant above the Munich Olympic grounds [summer time], also some are used for traffic-control and weather transmission data, but mainly their usage is for mobile military communications purposes:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4242974.html
ps > do they have Shawermas in Guantanamo!
24. The Gadgeteer | January 31st, 2008 at 7:19 pm
This is a Kuwaiti not an U.S blimp, It’s weather monitoring and military proposes.
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