I’ve been a fan of airships for years and I think it’s great that their unique functionality is once again going to be used.
The airships – which have been dubbed Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) systems – will be deployed in just 18 months.
“It is critical [for] our warfighters [to be] equipped with more enabling integrated ISR capability to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s conflicts,” explained Northrop spokesperson Alan Metzger.
“[So], we have designed a system with plug-and-play capability to readily integrate into the Army’s existing common ground station command centers and ground troops in forward operating bases.”
According to Metzger, the LEMVs are expected to be capable of sustaining altitudes of 20,000 feet for a three-week period.