ISIS fighters in Iraq claim they have shot down a spy blimp-like airship near Tikrit, a city in Iraq, located 140 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.
The ISIS’s media has released imagery showing members of the terrorist group displaying a wreckage of the spy aerostat.
The aerostat like this is designed for providing real-time video surveillance from a very high vantage point. It is one of many essential tools used for locating improvised explosive devices and facilitating route reconnaissance.
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The Aerostat gives personnel on the ground the ability to watch over a very large area, search for IEDs and track other things of interest.
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The aerostat is the kind used extensively in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to provide surveillance around U.S. bases and other sensitive sites. It is tethered to the ground when in use, the cable carrying power up to the blimp and sending data back down to the ground. The aerostat like this is used by the U.S. Army to conduct reconnaissance operations in Iraq.
Some expert reported that it was ALTUS tactical aerostat developed by Silicis Technologies Inc.
The Altus, which was created and manufactured by Silicis Technologies, is a tactical unmanned aerial system which major functions serve to provide units with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets by way of a 360-degree camera that can sit up to 1,000 feet in the sky – with minimal personnel needed to operate it.
The Altus requires little site preparation and its confined space launching capabilities ensures efficient productivity in remote locations.
