Research Aircraft Conduction Aerial Mapping In The Region

Baltimore residents have been seeing something out of the ordinary in the skies above Charm City the last few days.

A Navy blimp has been flying over the city conducting aerial mapping, according to the U.S. Naval Research Lab. It began flying over Washington, D.C. late in September, and has since traveled a bit north to Baltimore.

The aircraft can remain stationary for over two hours, according to the Navy. The NRL said in a news release that the airship is operated under the special approval of the FAA and the TSA. The Navy MZ-3A has been conducting aerial mapping operations within the Washington D.C. Flight Restriction Zone (DCA-FRZ) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, (USDA-ARS) Beltsville, MD, and at U.S. Army Fort Belvoir located in Fairfax, VA.

In addition, the MZ-3A is conducting mapping operations within the DCA-Special Flight Restrictions Area (DCA-SFRA) and at times has traversed the region to the north to Frederick Municipal Airport (KFDK) in Maryland and to the southwest near Culpepper, VA, (KCJR). The operation is scheduled to end  Oct. 5, and the airship will return to the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, NJ.

Television station WJZ reports that of course, the appearance of something unusual in the sky has prompted people to give it a nickname ... "the Baltimore Blimp" ... and has generated multiple twitter discussions.

(U.S. Navy image)

FMI: www.nrl.navy.mil