Airships return for future Aviation, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and cruise missile defense.

Airship is a type of lighter-than-air aircraft which can navigate through the air under its own power. They are different from  Aerostats that gain their lift from large gas bags filled with a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.  Historically, airships have been used in applications where the ability to hover in one place for an extended period outweighs the need for speed and maneuverability.

 

While airships cannot compete with conventional aircraft when it comes to speed, they offer other advantages. First is that with the envelope (that is, the ballon-like structure where the gas goes) providing lift, there is no need to expend fuel to maintain flight. Second is low-speed maneuverability, meaning they don’t require as much infrastructure as airplanes — no runway for instance, or only a short one in the case of hybrids. Third is high potential lifting power — the largest new designs could theoretically carry 500 tons or more, in the same league as the largest cargo planes. Fourth is very high cargo volume — a heavy lift airship would have to be very large, and so would be able to accommodate a correspondingly huge cargo bay.

 

“They are extremely fuel efficient, which means they are environmentally friendly and have a much lower cost base to operate,” Massey University School of Aviation assistant lecturer Isaac Henderson  says. “They also have the luxury of space – you can build a luxurious cabin where people can eat and drink and walk around and, when you are looking at scenery, the slow speed is actually an advantage.”

 

Applications such as advertising, tourism, camera platforms, geological surveys, and aerial observation are well suited to Airships.

 

Airships are now making comeback after incorporating enhanced safety technologies. Modern airships have a natural buoyancy and special design that offers a virtually zero catastrophic failure mode. It is estimated there are about 50 of them in existence around the world, in use by private firms as well as the military.

 

 

Airlander is designed to use less fuel than a plane, but carry heavier loads than conventional airships. Its developer, Hybrid Air Vehicles, says it can reach 16,000 feet (4,900 meters), travel at up to 90 mph (148 kph) and stay aloft for up to two weeks. “It’s a great British innovation,” said chief executive Stephen McGlennan. “It’s a combination of an aircraft that has parts of normal fixedwing aircraft, it’s got helicopter, it’s got airship.” The company hopes to be building 10 Airlanders a year by 2021.