Hybrid ISR Airship Afghanistan Bound?

Posted by Graham Warwick at 4/24/2009 12:17 PM CDT

An unmanned airship could be conducting weeks-long persistent ISR missions over Afghanistan within 18 months, if the US Army gets any takers for its latest sources sought notice. Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) is looking for a prototype of a hybrid airship called the Long Endurance Multi-payload Vehicle (LEMV). Requirements include a three-week endurance, station-keeping at 20,000ft altitude while carrying a 2,500lb, 16kW multi-INT payload.

At first glance the requirement looks a reasonable fit for something like Lockheed Martin's High Altitude Long Endurance Demonstrator (HALE-D) - a subscale prototype of the proposed solar-powered stratospheric High-Altitude Airship (HAA). Except for that reference to "hybrid airship", which normally connotes a vehicle combining lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air characteristics, and using buoyancy, aerodynamics and vectored thrust for lift. Think of DARPA's defunct Walrus uber-lifter program, or the Skunk Works' P-971, seen here:




The solar-powered HALE-D, which is already being funded by SMDC and is due to fly in August, is a pure airship designed to demonstrate station-keeping at 60,000ft, with the goal of exceeding two week's endurance. And it will carry only a 50lb payload. The full-size HAA would carry a 2,000lb/15kW payload at 65,000ft for more than 30 days - but is a long way from being built.

SMDC is also funding the HiSentinel solar-powered stratospheric airship demonstrator developed by Southwest Research Institute and Aerostar International, but that carries only an 80lb/500W payload. So where will the LEMV prototype come from? For a possible clue, check out Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd. The latest incarnation of Airship Industries and Advanced Technologies Group, the UK-based company says it is flying a subscale demonstrator of a unmanned hybrid airship...

Armored Business Booming

Why doesn't this make me feel any safer?

Pakistani PM: Nukes safe from Taliban

Pakistani PM: Nukes safe from Taliban: "Pakistan's military can stop Taliban fighters who are closing in on the capital and the nation's nuclear weapons are safe, Pakistan's prime minister said Friday.

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(Via CNN.com.)

Predator C is Stealthy with a Tailhook

Predator C is Stealthy with a Tailhook: "

For all you unmanned combat aerial vehicle fans, the wait is over. Here are some snazzy'photos of the Avenger, i.e., General Atomics' new Predator C, which appears'to take the old standard and make it stealthy and more deadly.

Aviation Week & Space Technology is publishing an exclusive set of photos, the first, and they are also available here in the Defense Showcase, along with many we couldn't fit in the print version. The magazine's April 20th edition has interesting new information on the UCAV, which we previewed for you on AviationWeek.com this week.

While company officials aren’t calling it a stealthy aircraft, they will admit to a reduced signature. The 20-hr.-endurance UAV’s undeniably stealthed-up exterior offers clues about how the aircraft could be employed.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems'chief of UAVs,'retired admiral Tom Cassidy, has'created an empire by building on his own dime'what the Pentagon needs and not what it asks for. The result is a line of relatively inexpensive, armed, high-performance combat UAVs that are used by all the services and intelligence agencies. Now it appears that Cassidy could strike yet again with a stealthy, armed, fast, all-jet UCAV that is cheaper than'known Air Force or Navy UCAV designs.

The aircraft also was designed from its inception so that the wings could be folded at the point where they crank (or change shape at mid-wing) for storage in hangars or for aircraft carrier operations. The UAV also comes with a tailhook that suggests that carrier-related trials are planned. The inner section of the cranked wing is deep, providing structural strength for carrier landings and generous fuel volume while maintaining a dry, folding outer wing.

Read this week's Aviation Week & Space Technology story: Predator C Avenger Makes First Flights.

Aviation Week's Bill Sweetman, editor in chief of Defense Technology International, helped report this story.

Credit: General Atomics

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(Via Ares.)

F-16s, helos intercept small plane near Capitol

F-16s, helos intercept small plane near Capitol: "WASHINGTON — A small, single-engine plane strayed into restricted air space near the U.S. Capitol on Friday, forcing anxious officials to place the White House in temporary lock down and take steps to evacuate the Capitol."

(Via Air Force Times - News.)