lighter-than-air vehicles - Defense Innovation Marketplace

Integrated Sensor Is Structure (ISIS) — ISIS is a joint Defense Advanced Research ProjectsAgency (DARPA) and Air Force Science and Technology (S&T) program that integratesadvanced radar with tracking and moving target indication directly into the structure of a highaltitudeairship. The program began in 2004 as a joint DARPA and Air Force program withcontractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The technical focus of the program is to create apersistent, wide area surveillance (WAS), tracking and engagement capability for hundreds oftime-critical air and ground targets. Currently, the airship is in its third phase of development of ahalf-scale demonstrator, which has a planned flight scheduled for FY14.Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) — The LEMV airship is a hybrid airshipdesigned to provide low-altitude ISR capabilities. The LEMV is being developed by the U.S.Army SMDC and prime contractor Northrup Grumman. The United Kingdom’s Hybrid AirVehicles, Inc. designed the LEMV envelope. The first flight for operational testing is scheduledto occur in the summer of 2012. There are no other DoD agencies collaborating with the Armyon the LEMV program. The objective of the program is to provide a long-endurance capability(up to 21 days) for persistent ISR missions. SMDC has studied variations of the low-altitude ISRversion to adapt the LEMV for heavy- airlift logistics operations as well.MZ-3A — MZ-3A is the only currently operational airship owned by the DoD. The MZ-3A is arepurposed American Blimp Corporation A-170 that is primarily used as a flying laboratory fortesting sensor payloads. The MZ-3A is owned by the Navy and contractor operated by IntegratedSystem Solutions, Inc. The Army plans to use it for payload testing in the next fiscal year. Thisplatform provides test bed services for payload development and testing.Pelican — The Pelican is a Rigid Aeroshell, Variable Buoyancy (RAVB) hybrid airship. Thedevelopment effort is led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research andEngineering) (ASD[R&E])–Rapid Reaction Technology Office (RRTO) and NationalAeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center with contractor AerosCorporation providing the aircraft. The technical objectives of the Pelican program are tointegrate and demonstrate several key technologies that could enable LTA airlift capabilities.These include a buoyancy control system enabling ballast independent operations; a rigid,lightweight-composite internal structure; a responsive low-speed/hover control system; andground handling capabilities to enable operations without a ground handling crew. Aeros ispreparing for a hangar demonstration to take place by the end of 2012.Skybus — Skybus is an experimental, remotely piloted, unmanned airship owned by the Army,which is used primarily as a payload test platform. The current version is an 80,000 cu. ft. airshipdeveloped by SAIC. This platform provides test bed services for payload development andtesting; thus, no scientific or technical challenges regarding LTA technology are being addressedas part of this program. The Skybus uses a multi-payload gondola equipped with Full MotionVideo (FMV) turrets, Star Safire III, communications relays, and wideband networks equipment.This equipment is used to facilitate testing a variety of ISR and communications payloadsdeveloped by a number of organizations, including industry and government labs, e.g., Air ForceResearch Lab (AFRL), Army Research Lab (ARL), and the Naval Research Lab (NRL). TheArmy is reassembling it for an operational demonstration to occur by the end of fiscal year (FY)2012.v