Keep your eye on the sky these next two weeks and you may just see a Navy airship.
A Navy MZ-3A airship, or blimp, is coming to Jacksonville for various demonstrations and testing. She will be hosted by the US 4th Fleet headquartered in Naval Station Mayport.
The airship is docked now at the Fernandina Municipal Airport and will be doing the testing off Mayport.
The airship will be performing these exercises between March 25 and April 5.
In a release from the base, airships like this are described as “platforms that warrant more research” when dealing with “the current fiscal environment”. They reportedly have an enhanced fuel efficiency and payload capacity compared to current capabilities. The exercises will be performed for the Fleet Commander as it’s considered for possible use in the future.