Why did this take so long to come about? New product that put together ideas and concepts that have been around for decades...

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Lockheed

talk about a BIG target. the sound you heard was Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich turning over in their grave

Apparently the military lost interest but Lockheed saw commercial possibilities. More here:

Breakthrough aircraft to transform remote mining | MINING.com

Just hope the wind isn't blowing anywhere along the route......

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

It's not military- it's a civilian- commercial project.

British company will buy first 12 Lockheed Hybrid Airships - LA Times

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Reminds me of a big blood engorged tick that I take off my dog...

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James Redfield
LM #497

It is different looking! I can see it being a big help delivering medical supplies, food, water, tents etc. to disaster areas. It will be interesting to see the applications once they go into use.

I worked at Lockheed for almost 35 years. Not the first weird idea they've come up with. SR-71 would never fly (it did). L1011 was a nightmare loss for the company, though. Yoke sensitivity caused the Everglades crash (auto-pilot disengaged, no one noticed). Polaris, Poseidon, Trident I and Trident II. Workhorses. A lot of folks don't remember we actually fired a sub-launched Polaris missile with a LIVE warhead in early 1960's....and it worked as designed. Haven't had to demonstrate that since.

They should paint it to look like a giant flying hotdog.

Ups, FedEx drone delivery flying warehouse.

Hey, you want to go for a ride? Ummm, no thanks.

Worked at LM for 17 years after I retired from the Army. One of the short term selling points to DOD of this idea was that cargo containers going to Afghanistan from the seaport at Karachi, Pakistan were transported using civilian local national trucks and drivers. Often containers would go missing, either due to theft or being boobytrapped and put back in the supply line. The Army has RFID tags on all containers and readers along the routes. They started using GPS-enabled RFID tags, so when containers started to disappear, it was relatively simple to locate them and if the containers were congregating somewhere associated with Taliban, it was pretty simple to send a drone with Hellfire missiles to take care of it. After a while, container problems greatly diminished. The airship idea was a way to reduce the need to rely on questionable local drivers in what is arguably a less than friendly country. The other idea was to use them as stationary "eyes in the sky" with Hellfires to monitor different areas on a long term basis without needing drones in the air all the time. That idea really didn't catch on. It's a great way to move a lot of cargo to remote areas, though.

I miss the Zeppelin era.




Even though I wasn't even born until 21 years after it ended.

When I was 4 years old, we lived in Stratford, CT. I remember my father waking me from my afternoon nap, carrying me outside and telling me to look up. There was a big, cigar shaped thing up there and a buzzing noise. It was the Hindenburg going into Lakehurst, on its next to last flight. Wonder how many people stil alive have seen the Hindenburg or the Graf Zeppelin.

Oh, the humanity!!!







(sorry poor taste)

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Still Running Against the Wind

My father had a piece of the Hindenburg, some kind of silver looking cloth.
He was dating the daughter of the man that owned the rights to salvage what was left of it.(No, not my mother)
Don't know what happened to it.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears