Poster
06-28-2004, 03:11 PM
Blimps and airships are being considered for reconnaissance by the US military and Homeland Security. Apparently, airships can provide just as much information as a satellite but at a fraction of the cost. A satellite costs the government about $150 million, while airship developers say their craft would cost only a few million. Also the ship could serve as a communications transmitting point for cell phones and internet activity. Different proposed designs able airships to operate anywhere from 5,000-100,000 feet high.
"Think of us as a low-hanging satellite," said Mike Lawson, president of Techsphere Systems International LLC. "We're a niche in the marketplace that will create a safer world."
“Airships have gone in and out of fashion as the mission requirements have come and gone," said John E. Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense consulting group in Alexandria, Va. "There is probably more interest in airships today than there has been for some time. Whether any of that is going to pan out is a different question."
For more information see: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040627_1159.html
"Think of us as a low-hanging satellite," said Mike Lawson, president of Techsphere Systems International LLC. "We're a niche in the marketplace that will create a safer world."
“Airships have gone in and out of fashion as the mission requirements have come and gone," said John E. Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense consulting group in Alexandria, Va. "There is probably more interest in airships today than there has been for some time. Whether any of that is going to pan out is a different question."
For more information see: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040627_1159.html