The other day while at work some people said they saw a blimp in the sky. I tried looking for it but supposedly it had disappeared behind some buildings. No one believed them of course including me, that is until today. On my way to the north I spotted a huge blimp in what looks like a US military base. Its to the left of the 6th Ring Road past highway 80. I quickly pulled out my camera and took the picture above. I wonder what its used for and what was it doing in Kuwait City the other day?
26 replies on “Blimp in Kuwait”
https://www.aerosml.com/military.asp they are used for the military. Click on the link for more information 🙂
We went driving in the desert yesterday (on the ridges you can see behind the blimp) and one of the guys with us mentioned it is an early warning system with radar housed on the underside of the blimp which can detect Iraqi and Iranian aircraft movements.
It is apparently fixed to a cable and raised and lowered when needed. He did mention however that it breaks down quite often and spends a lot of time on the ground…? Whether this is fact or not I don’t know.
Mark, how long have you been in this country??
The Blimp’s been there for years and years (may even have been one pre-invasion if I remember right) It’s on a Kuwaiti training camp of sorts I think! I did hear a funny story about it blowing away once but as this is Kuwait I took that story with a lorry load of salt!
Pinky
chillout guys,,, they just want to measure our unusual cold weather parameters 😛
I posted on this in 2006
https://www.stillkuwaiting.com/2006/12/01/dirigible-near-mutlaa-ridge-kuwait/
Apparently it’s used for high-tech surveillance. It only goes up and down though, you won’t see it flying over Kuwait!
There is one near by my house in Jahra and it was there long time ago.
I work in Jahra and I notice everything around me.
That Blimp i started seeing about 3 weeks back.Im always very surprised how I’m always looking up at it and the locals don’t even bother with curiosity.
Reason I say this is cause I’ve never seen it before 3weeks ago.
I am really curious what the real story is behind it. I’m really curious cause it does move around, it’s never on the same place above Jahra.But always above Jahra.
A number of Blimps were set up in Kuwait and Iraq in mid 2005 to improve UHF and VHF communications for US army units. (In other words, to improve non-line of sight communications). They run without refueling for about 3 weeks. If wind speed is high, they must be tied to the ground.
Blimps normally fly at about 200-300 meters. They will function even with a hole of up to 10 cms (like if someone shoots at it); and need a small-patch airport area to operate and service. Naturally they are fitted with some weather and telemetry equipment.
The nearest mooring station to Kuwait city is in a small rocket base area that you can see to your left while driving from North Sabhan to join the 7th ring road on the way to Ahmadi.
Cost, with ground electronics, is approximatelt $ 4 mion!
Guess who is paying!! *wink*
Be carefull when taking pics of military basis .. unless you want to review the Shawerma of Guantanamo lol
i think i saw this thing on the discovery channel once…i cant remember what it was used for but i think (im not sure) that its a spy thing…its got a camera of some sort in it…im not 100%on that though
ALL YOUR BASES BELONG TO US!
i think thats a radar and we had one since before the invasion (actually we had couple, one was destroyed by the iraqis, one was simply “lost” in the sky after the invation, and i guess this one).
lol @ uncle benz
It is for the kuwait army …
this base is belong to “ma’3weer”
Simply to monitor the Kuwaiti Iraqi borders 😀
yes LOL UncleBenz
“Oh the humanity!”
I love that everyone has a different, definitive explanation for the blimp 🙂
if you look close enough, double D perhaps?
was this the UFO that some guy saw and was reported in the papers..
Unclebenz is right: Be careful with publishing these photos. Dudes take photography of “installations” seriously. If you get closer to this area, there are signs posted that photography isn’t allowed.
deer balik ya Mark!
Mark, it seems that the muba7ith will be passing by your home. Taking pictures of this place is restricted plus posting this picture with its directions and location. “Allah Yaster” illmuhim be cautious on what you post 🙂
214b, there are many uses for the Blimp. I have seen one used as a restaurant above the Munich Olympic grounds [summer time], also some are used for traffic-control and weather transmission data, but mainly their usage is for mobile military communications purposes:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4242974.html
ps > do they have Shawermas in Guantanamo!
This is a Kuwaiti not an U.S blimp, It’s weather monitoring and military proposes.
I have another question as someone not From around here but would like to know.
Does Kuwait,one of the hottest countries in the world not have a solar power station cause If not i can’t see how that was never a thought to the government.
Please let me know if anyone has any views on this.