Posted on 10/22/2003 9:47:49 AM PDT by meandog
Anti-missile system to use blimp 25 times larger than Goodyear's
The United States has been developing what could become a new concept in destroying enemy ballistic missiles in their boost phase.
The concept calls for stationing a huge blimp out of enemy aircraft or missile range that would detect preparations for and launch of any enemy ballistic missile. The blimp would then relay the information to fighter jets that would shoot down the enemy launcher or missile.
The project has been sponsored by the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency. The agency has awarded Lockheed Martin a $40 million design and risk reduction contract to advance a project to develop and demonstrate a prototype of a high-altitude airship that could remain in the air for one month.
Lockheed Martin executives said the airship would be 500 feet long, 160 feet in diameter and have a volume of 5.2 million cubic feet. This would be about 25 times larger than the blimps seen at athletic events. "We share the Missile Defense Agency's vision for the high altitude airship and the many roles it can serve over our domestic borders and distant theaters of operation," said Al Barber, vice president at Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors.
"Its long time on station and ability to carry different payloads will provide multi-mission capabilities not possible with other assets. When launched, the HAA will commence a new era in flight."
The project calls for the demonstration of the airship in 2006. The first phase of the project involves drafting a concept of an airship that can remain afloat for one month at an altitude of 65,000 feet. The facility would have a payload of two tons and provide 10 kilowatts of power.
Israel and the United States have been experimenting with BPI concepts since 1996. Israel had envisioned a network of unmanned air vehicles that could remain in the sky for several days at a time to monitor enemy ballistic missile activities.
But the Lockheed Martin project calls for one facility that would remain stationary. The airship would also have autonomous flight control capabilities.
In another development, two U.S. contractors have conveyed a proposal to the Pentagon to upgrade the E-8C aircraft into a system that would rapidly detect a missile launch as well as estimate its point of impact.
Northrop Grumman and Textron Systems drafted the proposal. Under the proposal, Textron would mount its Theater Airborne Warning System on the J-STARS [Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System] aircraft.
No apology needed. The idea is farce. I was in air defense and ideas like this were as common as donuts at a police station. The combination I like the best is submarines and satellites. We have them. They work. We need to integrate them into a global air defense system.
A "Blimp", 500 feet long, 160 feet in diameter..
What are those people smoking?
Well, I nominate Ted Kennedy. He's of the right size, and is full of hot air.
Also check www.navlog.org.
On second thought I began to see the possiblities. This is a theater system, not strategic, first. It is a trip wire system, that is, flying outside of the target's airspace, so attacking it would be an act of war. It is designed to be "autonomous", that is, unmanned if desired, and is part force projection, part reconnaisance, and part "we are watching you". Obviously the blimp would be fairly easy to shoot down, flying at 65,000 feet, an obvious problem. So I ran a few numbers.
At 13 miles above sea level the blimp radar would "see" objects 2 miles above sea level at a range of 323 miles. The blimp would stay on station, likely using GPS, but could be moved at will. A mach 6 missle takes about 6 minutes to go 323 miles and could be watched for nearly the full time of flight. A light weight CIWS equivalent unguided rocket system plus something like Phoenix with a small nuclear warhead would give really quite good protection. A frigate with Standard missles would be a pretty good back up.
Imagine the possibilities. Three hundred miles off of North Korea, watching every move, every second. Wouldn't that jack Kim Il Jung's jaws?? hey?? How about the coast of China? The Taiwan Strait?
Nowadays, everybody knows the exact time every satellite passes over, and put all their action under a shed roof during the satellite passover. Satellites work super for naval recon, but not so hot for land recon unless backed up by aircraft - including this blimp!! Weird, sure, but looking more cool every minute!!
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