Blimps are used to broadcast football games but now the U.S. military is planning to employ one in Afghanistan and other war zones.

Known as “The Blue Devil Block 2,” it is “a floating surveillance platform,” according to TechCrunch. It “could soon appear at war-torn combat zones the world over,” TechCrunch adds.

The Blue Devil was described by the media as “downright massive” – reported to be 370 feet long and is about double the size of the Goodyear blimp. It is 1.4 million cubic feet, according to news reports.

The blimp will be used to transport “an array of wide-area cameras and eavesdropping equipment” into Afghanistan in 2012, TechCrunch said.

It can monitor up to 36 square miles at any one time, according to Wired. It is expected to float unmanned in the air. Once in position, The Blue Devil will remain at 20,000 feet in the air above war zones and be used for surveillance. There is a supercomputer on the blimp to process data. It can be up in the air for nine days, if conditions permit.

The blimp was filled with helium last week.

“It could change the nature of overhead surveillance,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, who is heading up Mav 6, the company building the blimp, Wired reported.

It is a $211 million project from the U.S. Air Force. Wired says the company is trying to ensure that Congressional support for the project remains in place.

Blue Devil 2 is being held in a hangar in Elizabeth City, NC, according to Defense Update.

The blimp features “two ducted propellers and a rear maneuvering engine, all powered by a main diesel generator driving 120 KVA for propulsion and on board systems. The side motors are producing thrust for forward propulsion at a maximum air speed of 90 knots, or offset wind effect… The blimp will be equipped with gondola shaped mission modules … The gondola has multiple attachments for 10- 40 sensors, … high definition motion video cameras, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Ground Moving Target (News - Alert) Indication (GMTI) radar, communications systems, datalinks and high power supercomputer platform providing image processing, storage, retrieval and dissemination,” Defense Update reported.

The U.S. Army wants to deploy an airship to Afghanistan, too. It appears it will use a British Hybrid Air vehicle design for the Northrop Grumman (News - Alert) Long-Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) system, according to Defense Update. It has a budget of $517 million but its airship could do more than the Air Force blimp.

In a related story, TMCnet reported earlier this year that British scientists developed a device which can help soldiers pinpoint the “position of enemy snipers 1,000 yards away.”

The “Sniper Spotter” was deployed with the Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan.

The device is small enough to be worn on a soldier’s arm, TMCnet adds.