Huge Lockheed Martin Airship Set to Debut in 2011, Survey Battlefields

Eugen Leitl eugen at leitl.org
Fri Sep 25 06:55:03 PDT 2009


http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=16334

Huge Lockheed Martin Airship Set to Debut in 2011, Survey
Battlefields Jason Mick (Blog) - September 25, 2009 8:40 AM

A concept artist's sketch shows the LEMV in flight. The massive 250-ft
airship, built by Lockheed Martin will be floating over Afghanistan,
gathering intelligence in 2011. It can fly three weeks without stopping for
fuel.  (Source: Gizmodo)

Lockheed Martin has already successfully tested a smaller, 125-ft hybrid
airship, the P-791. The P-791, pictured here in flight, made six test flights
in 2006.  (Source: YouTube)

Airships to play critical role in future warfare

In the early twentieth century, airships were a promising new front of
warfare, with dirigibles serving both for bombing and for intelligence
gathering.  However, the advent of airplanes and key disasters such as the
Hindenburg fire spelled the death of the airship as a war weapon.  Airships
still stuck around, though, in the form of the blimps that float over
sporting events.  They also frequently appeared in fantasy and science
fiction, where they served as key attack aircraft or command centers in such
works as the Marvel comic book universe (the SHIELD helicarrier), Final
Fantasy, Aeon Flux, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Now airships are poised to make a real life return to the battlefront.
Measuring 250 feet in length, Lockheed Martin's Long Endurance
Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) is sure to make an imposing presence on the
battlefield when it debuts in mid-2011.

The ship is capable of carrier passengers, or being remotely controlled by
operators in the U.S.  The airship can sit at up to 20,000 feet for as long
as three weeks at a time.  The LEMV is actually a special kind of airship
called a hybrid airship.  Where most airships are lighter than air when
flying, hybrid airships are heavier than air, though they do get some of
their buoyancy from gas compartments.  The rest comes from lift during flight
(like airplanes).  Some, like LEMV, feature turbines on their underside to
help them initially launch into the air, though they still require a short
runway.

The materials which compose the three lobes of the aircraft have not been
released, so its hard to assess how resistant to enemy fire they will be.
Given, the craft's cruising height, though, it should be able to remain
relatively safe.  The aircraft carriers its instruments and sensors in a
40-foot long, 15-foot wide area behind the cockpit.  The sensor payload will
be 2,500 pounds and draw 16 Kw of power.

The outlandish airship will see test deployment to the battlefield in
Afghanistan two years from now.  It will be used primarily for intelligence.

Lockheed Martin is also developing separate airships to transport large
amounts of cargo at lower altitudes.  The LEMV and Lockheed's other airships
are largely based on the 125-foot P-791 hybrid airship, built and tested in
2006.  The P-791 showed itself capable of taking flight, carrying heavy
loads, and executing sharp turns over six test flights. 





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