United States Army Airship, Spy Blimp, long endurance multi-intelligence vehicle, or LEMV flying over Patriots Park, Jaskson, New Jersey. Is it the first flight sighting over New Jersey?
A football-field-size airship with surveillance gear designed to do the work of a dozen drones. The LEMV will include the capability to operate at 20,000 feet above mean sea level, possess a 2,000 mile radius of action, have a 21-day on-station availability, consume 16 kilowatts of electrical power, have reduced flight-hour costs compared to manned flights, be runway-independent and possess the ability to carry several different sensors at the same time.
The agreement to develop the project was signed on June 14, 2010, between the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and Northrop Grumman.
The current model can carry 20 tons of supplies. A scaled-up version could carry hundreds of tons and at a fraction of the cost of fixed-wing airplanes.
The airship estimated cost between $154 million and $517 million.
This is wild, you never know what the government as in the sky.
I can see this being use over Afghanistan, taking cargo to and from the country,
Hopefully the Taliban doesn’t have land to air missiles to bring it down.
You only see them Blimps flying over stadiums for advertisement.
Now, using them in combat.
Let’s hope this doesn’t go down. No, they shouldn’t see this one comming at all.