Not so long ago it seemed that the golden age of giant lumbering airships had gone down with the Hindenberg, consigned to less spectacular roles in research, advertising and as a great camera platform above sporting events… but they’re making a comeback. Lighter-than-air aircraft are returning to passenger carrying roles in tourism and in recent years we’ve seen a new-generation of airships put forward as a cargo-lifting solution (DARPA’s now seemingly shelved Walrus Project) and even as a corporate air yacht (Aeroscraft ML866). Now the U.S. Army is moving quickly to build a hybrid airship weapons system that will act as a long-duration UAV – a very big, long duration UAV. The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) will be longer than a football field and stay aloft at altitudes of 20,000 feet for more than three weeks at a time providing an “unblinking eye” for surveillance and reconnaissance.
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