“Eyes Over Washington” - EPIC Obtains New Documents About Surveillance Blimps
EPIC has obtained new documents detailing the Department of Army’s use of surveillance blimps over the nation’s capital. The documents include thirty heavily redacted pages of equipment descriptions and data. In May EPIC filed suit against the Department of the Army to obtain details about a sophisticated tracking and targeting system that will be deployed over Washington, DC during the next three years. JLENS is comprised of two 250' blimps. One blimp conducts aerial and ground surveillance over a 340-mile range, while the other has targeting capability, including HELLFIRE missile capability. The JLENS was originally deployed in Iraq. In the FOIA Request, EPIC asked the Army for technical specifications as well as any policies limiting domestic surveillance. An Army spokesperson said recently that JLENS will “absolutely not” include video surveillance gear. Similar blimps have been deployed by the DHS for border security. They include video surveillance. For more information, see EPIC: EPIC v. Army - Surveillance Blimps and EPIC: Domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Drones.
September 26, 2014| Share:
