[Redwood71]

In around 2006, the Army started experimenting with unmanned blimps . Telford Aviation of Dothan, Alabama was awarded an $11,195,164 contract for “operational support for Medium Airborne Reconnaissance Surveillance Systems.” The contract was awarded by the US Army’s Communications-Electronics Command, hence the creation of the Skybus 30K.

The Skybus, according to the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), “can loiter for 30 to 40 hours, can travel up to 35 knots, and has faint visual, radar, infrared, and acoustic signatures.” It seems clear that the US Army’s “Medium Airborne Reconnaissance Surveillance Systems” - not a term it normally uses - will be robot spy airships intended for ground surveillance to include border patrol, port security, survivor search, wildlife management and sports event monitoring.” And put an emphasis on border patrol.

Skybus can lurk in the sky for days on end above the range of handheld anti-aircraft missiles. The manned airship in the 2004 trials was said to be able to comfortably exceed 10,000 feet if required, which would keep it safe from shoulder-launched missiles even if they could lock on to its feeble signatures. And there isn’t a lot of info loose to say what’s been done to propulsion since then. This may still be sensitive.

Maybe that is what was seen?

rwood

[RoosterRedux]

Skybus sounds like a solid product.

This device shot off at supersonic speed though.

[RoosterRedux]

It seems that whatever this thing was, it was a drone of some sort. Small but very fast...and with an altitude of an estimate 80,000 feet.

If a living thing was inside it, there must have been some kind of protection from the G-force required to attain it's speed.

[JockoManning]

Blimps do not approach speed and maneuverability of even conventional or fighter aircraft. Exotic UFO craft are wayyyyy beyond the flight characteristics of a blimp.