A missing airplane and a rise in piracy attacks off the coast of Singapore has prompted the city-state to boost surveillance efforts with a radar-equipped blimp over its skyline.

An unmanned helium-filled balloon the length of an Olympic-size pool will be held down by fortified ropes to float 600 meters (2,000 feet) above ground – more than twice the height of Singapore’s tallest building, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on its website.

“Both aviation and maritime domains have to be closely monitored in the light of the more recent developments, for instance the MH370,” said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “So it is paramount for the governments to review the existing capabilities and build new capabilities.”

The search of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared in March with 239 passengers on board, has pushed the aviation industry and governments to come up with better tracking systems.

Hijackings of small oil tankers by armed gangs are also increasing in the region that’s home to the shortest sea-trade route between the Middle East and China.

Five of the six vessels seized worldwide in the third quarter were in Southeast Asia, according to the International Maritime Bureau and International Chamber of Commerce.

Globally, there have been 178 piracy incidents this year, down from 352 in 2011