Old Becomes New...Airships are out of the Box

Abstract

Over the next decade, the transformation of the U.S. military will continue at a rapid pace. Homeland defense, terrorist threats, near-competitor nation states, the spread of high technology weapons, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction make it imperative that our military develops new technologies to transform itself into an organization capable of countering these threats. One emerging technology being demonstrated is actually an innovative use of an old technology - airships. Combining the old airship concepts with modern sensors and communications equipment transforms these ideas into the emerging technology of a high altitude airship (HAA). This article describes the capabilities of the HAA: its military utility as an alternative to Space platforms (such as satellites) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), its potential as a communication relay, and its possible use by other government agencies.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA525766

Entities

People

  • Michael M. Lee

Organizations

  • United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Counter WMD
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Border Security
  • Commercial Communications
  • Communication Equipment
  • Communication Systems
  • Data Links
  • Emerging Technology
  • Force Protection
  • Governments
  • High Altitude
  • Homeland Defense
  • Homeland Security
  • Security
  • Space Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Weapons

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Tactical Satellite Communications Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Space
  • Space - Satellites