Aerostat - Blimp in a box

Forget drones: These tethered blimps can spy on cities below

Patrolling the skies these days is hard. There's so many options to choose from: traditional helicopters, new wide-angle surveillance planes, and even the more cutting-edge drones.

Each of these options has its drawbacks. Beyond the initial purchase price, well-tested helicopters typically cost at least hundreds of dollars per hour to send up. One-off surveillance planes are also not cheap, coming in at around $1,000 per hour. Drones, while very cheap, are problematic. Law enforcement needs a blanket Certificates of Authorization (COA) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and possibly a specific Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) each time a drone is used above 400 feet.

Enter a small Florida company now attempting to make snooping from the air both cheap and administratively easy. The Drone Aviation Holding Corporation (DAHC) recently announced that it had sold its second-ever "Blimp in a Box" for local law enforcement purposes.

The Ohio Department of Transportation (DOT), which spent for $180,000 on the blimp, did not immediately respond to Ars' request for comment.

These tethered blimps-formally known as aerostats-don't move on their own. They're allowed by the FAA as a "moored balloon" if they stay below 500 feet and meet other minor restrictions. The company said that similar tethered drones (which would require FAA approval) are also on their way.

The Blimp in a Box has a "days-duration flight time," an infrared sensor, and video cameras, according to the company's marketing materials. The device is designed to aid with surveillance, enhance situational awareness, and help with "communications research." For years, this type of inflatable spy technology has been sold to the military for ISR (intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance) missions, but only more recently has it come home to roost.

"We feel that we have a distinct advantage and that they're able to be operated under FAA guidelines legally," Dan Erdberg, the company's chief operating officer, told Ars. "Whereas right now you can't operate any free flying drones in the country. We're trying to find this niche and we wanted to come up with something unique and that wasn't a big aerostat. We came up with that concept and we started procuring sales 2 to 2.5 years ago."

"It's safe, it's not free flying," he added. "It's not going to present any danger to society. It's used in a controlled environment. It's not being driven around neighborhoods."

As a blimp, could the product be easily shot down? Erdberg said no. "Helium doesn't bleed out very fast, these things can stay up for hours even with a bunch of rounds through them."