Pentagon eyeing next-gen airship that can stay aloft for 10 years without a recharge
Eco Factor: Solar and hydrogen fueled surveillance airship.
The Pentagon will soon be developing a $400 million spy blimp or airship which will provide them with the intelligence they’ve been dreaming of for long. Measuring 400 feet, the airship will be able to fly up to 65,000 feet in the air and can travel to any destination across the globe within 15 days. With the capability of spying targets up to a 375 mile radius, the airship will be able to stay aloft for 10 years at a stretch.
Flying at 65,000, the airship will be far from the reach of most land to air missiles and will be too high for even the most sophisticated fighter to target. The feature that makes the airship a truly next-gen venture is its power source. The airship will be powered by solar panels which will be backed up by hydrogen fuel cells to keep the airship airborne even during nighttime.
The Dark Side:
$400 million is a huge amount for any sort of technology, however, with the features and the capability to stay airborne for 10 years on green fuel makes our day.
Source: Ecofriend.org
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It seems the $400,000,000.00 price tag for a 450 foot floating craft, which is likely filled with helium is a little overpriced at nearly $1,000,000.00/linear foot. The concept however is extremely sensible and represents a step in the right direction. A solar powered Spy glider has been in operation since the mid 80’s and cost a fraction of this. It was originally designed to stay aloft for 1 year, then became a permanent fixture after the modification of the method of recovering visual data digitally precluded the need to land the craft.