Army's new spy blimp makes first test flight over Jersey
Aug 08, 2012
Army's new spy blimp makes first test flight over Jersey
By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
Updated 47m ago
After a two-0month delay, the U.S. Army's high-tech spy blimp has made its maiden flight, over the New Jersey Shore.
The football-field-size airship -- Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle, in Army parlance -- was put through its paces for 90 minutes Tuesday evening at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, a military spokesman confirmed to our Gannett colleagues at the Courier News.
Technicians are "checking to see how the vehicle withstood the flight ... aerodynamic loads," said John Cummings, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command.
Here's what Cummings said in statement reported earlier by Wired:"The first flight primary objective was to perform a safe launch and recovery with a secondary objective to verify the flight control system operation," Army spokesman John Cummings said in a statement. "Additional first flight objectives included airworthiness testing and demonstration, and system level performance verification."
"All objectives were met during the first flight," Cummings added.
http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanag...-community.jpgAn illustration of the Long Endurance ulti-Intelligence Vehicle, the Army's new football-field-
By Northrop Grumman
Based on further tests, the LEMV could deploy to Afghanistan by early next year. The airship, built by Northrop Grumman and costing between $154 million and $517 million "if all options are exercised," is designed to fly at 20,000 feet for up to three weeks at a time. It can be flown remotely or by a crew, and can lift heavy equipment in addition to providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.The "hybrid" airship takes off like a plane and uses helium to stay aloft, maneuvered by its onboard engines.
Army's new spy blimp makes first test flight over Jersey
