Report Gives Nod to Airships for U.S. Strategic Lift

Posted on: Oct. 20th, 2005 || Source: defensenews.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

A new U.S. congressional report endorses the idea of buying heavy-lift airships instead of cargo jets to get troops and equipment to future wars.

In a report looking at options for strategic lift, the Congressional Budget Office says airships, such as the Walrus program that is in its initial development stages, “would be virtually independent of air bases and would be well-suited to deliver combat-ready troops, along with their vehicles and other equipment, directly to their destinations.”

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, awarded two contracts in August for the first phase of Walrus development. The idea, if it works, is to have a hybrid airship capable of carrying 500 tons over 6,000 miles within a week, without refueling.

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