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Subject: Airships
ens. jack    9/13/2007 3:42:18 PM
We all know that airships were used briefly for strategic bombing and also for asw. Would it be possible to resurrect the usefulness of an airship as a mobile flying base? Build it so it could withstand a hit from sams, launch helos and carry the necessary equipment to supply an invasion? I just want opinions, not ass chewing, Herald, that means you.
 
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Wicked Chinchilla       9/13/2007 4:00:07 PM
My bet would be...no, it couldnt accomplish all that.  In order to accomodate the armor, equipment, launch facilities, etc. etc. the thing would have to be absolutely IMMENSE.  Old Airships were called airSHIPS for a reason: they were really as big as a sea-going vessel, they just floated.  The airship you propose would absolutely dwarf those in the past as those were mere passenger carriers.  Could you design an airship that big to carry it all? Yes, but it would be so..utterly...huge.. that SAMs would be the least of your worries, you could launch Anti Ship Missiles or other large ordnance usually devoted to hardened targets at it and be done. 
 
Until some kind of anti-grav technology or what not comes out, there simply isnt a practical means of getting that much stuff in the air. 
 
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Mechanic       9/13/2007 4:38:47 PM
h*tp://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/systems/haa.htm
 
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stingray1003       9/13/2007 4:43:21 PM
I've got some rough designs for an airship carrier for UAV's. Too many beers that night.
 
 Some airships were able to deploy fighters from them. Ala indiana jones and the last cruisade.
 
 My design worked a simular way. The mothership could deploy a dozen UAV's, refuel and rearm them. It would be very high in the atmosphere, moving 200+ kmph and over ~ 60,000 ft. I would use prevailing winds to move around with fan assistance. It would have some sort of missile or ciws or just be expendable.
 
 it would manage coms, provide air photos, refuel rearm, identify target autonomously. It would have radar, Ir, for target detection. Light up targets using a laser, drop GPS guided very small bombs (<5kg)
 
 It could be used to counter other UAV's in its airspace. Also precision bombardment. It says high and safe, while UAV's say low.
 
 You could put 5 in the air and have as many as 20 uav operate off each. 100 aircraft. They could network resources etc.
 
 Disable civilian vechicals (used by terrorists or other naughts), disable UAV's, disable individuals on the earths surface, maybe even fighter aircraft. Swaming attacks like locusts. Resistant to missiles ciws. Fly them so close that they return a single radar signature. as decoys. Intel.
 
 The UAV's would be tiny, maby 6' wing spans or less.
 
 
 
 
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Jeff_F_F       9/13/2007 6:13:42 PM
Development of such vehicles by a company call SkyCat is underway. The idea is a rigid, lifting body dirigible with the boyancy of the envelope providing 60% of its lift and airodynamic lift providing the other 40%. The landing gear is an aircushion system allowing it to operate from any fairly flat area, and can self anchor by reversing the direction of the aircushion fans (so-called "suck down" mode). They can hover and take off vertically at about 70% of their maximum load, otherwise they are STOL. Hence such an aircraft should be able to land vertically, unload its cargo and take off vertically again if needed. Cruising at 75-80 kts, it isn't terribly fast compared to aircraft but is very much less expensive to operate, and is much faster than ships, serving as an intermediate option between the two. The company is planning to build airships of up to 1000ton capacity, which would be an impressive option for transporting heavy rapid reaction forces and would not be effected by over-the-shore limitations of conventional seaborne transport.
 
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caltrop       9/13/2007 7:55:44 PM
What about taking an F-35B that could do a VTOL landing on the airship.  Could be rearmed and take off with a max combat load and not be restricted since the VT launch could be designed to be downward with maybe some forward movement.  Not sure if the F-35 coud do that, just an idea.
 
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Shirrush    Military? Nah...   9/13/2007 8:28:04 PM
Maybe airships are what we need to ferry the time-sensitive, perishables goods that are ordinarily shipped on cargo planes, such as fresh produce, refrigerated foodstuffs, flowers etc.
I doubt very much that these big, slow craft could be of any use in a modern armed conflict except as missile magnets, but civilian, cargo airships could well make air transportation very affordable. For one, no airports would be needed, and airships would not even need to land to unload their cargo, since lowering the palleted stuff with a hoist directly to the customer's waiting forklift would probably be their way to do business, and expensive, time-consuming road transport from airports would thus be spared. Also, as a bored passenger of many airliners, I wouldn't mind taking a slow, leisurely low altitude cruise in a classy airship cabin above some scenic part of the world every now and then...
Bring them blimps back, they're overdue!

 
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ens. jack    Civilian ships   9/14/2007 9:06:28 AM
I completely agree. The most claimed reason for the loss of airships was the Hindenburg accident. Not gonna happen now, thanks to helium.THey would probably be used more like luxury ships though, than economic vessels.
 
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ens. jack    Civilian ships   9/14/2007 9:06:32 AM
I completely agree. The most claimed reason for the loss of airships was the Hindenburg accident. Not gonna happen now, thanks to helium.THey would probably be used more like luxury ships though, than economic vessels.
 
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ens. jack    @#!$   9/14/2007 9:07:26 AM
Oops, frikin school computers
 
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