The U.S. Air Force said recently that it plans to build a 450-foot-long blimp within five years that will hover at 65,000 feet and stay aloft for a decade. The unmanned ship will serve as an aerial platform for surveillance gear that will allow the military to observe wide areas in fine detail. "That lets us better understand how an adversary operates, how to anticipate their actions, how to interpret their intent, and many other things that we need today, tomorrow and beyond," said chief scientist Werner J.A. Dahm, who is overseeing the project.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/usaf-high-altitude-blimp-to-provide-an-unblinking-eye