U.S. to launch blimps to guard capital against cruise missiles

The United States is planning to launch two blimps in a bid to develop a defense for Washington D.C. against cruise missiles fired from ships offshore.

Two blimps will float at 10,000 feet over the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland starting this fall, carrying radars that can search for hundreds of miles to detect the launch of a cruise missile and relay the data to interceptor missiles which were positioned around Washington in September 2001, CBS News reports.

The decision was taken after the Pentagon discovered a gap in the defenses of the nation's capital with no capability to detect cruise missile threat.

Although military officials insist they have no plans to put cameras on the blimps, it would give government the ability to follow American citizens as they go about their daily lives.