High-tech cargo airship being built in California

[unhappycamper]

http://www.nbc40.net/story/20809715/high-tech-cargo-airship-being-built-in-california



High-tech cargo airship being built in California
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON
Associated Press

TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) - The massive blimp-like aircraft flies but just barely, hovering only a dozen feet off a military hangar floor during flight testing south of Los Angeles.

Still, the fact that the hulking Aeroscraft could fly for just a few minutes represents a step forward in aviation, according to the engineers who developed it. The Department of Defense and NASA have invested $35 million in the prototype because of its potential to one day carry more cargo than any other aircraft to disaster zones and forward military bases.

"I realized that I put a little dot in the line of aviation history. A little dot for something that has never been demonstrated before, now it's feasible," said flight control engineer Munir Jojo-Verge.

The airship is undergoing testing this month at Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, and must go through several more rounds of flight testing before it could be used in a disaster zone or anywhere else. The first major flight test took place Jan. 3.

[Scuba]

1. Sounds fascinating, then I read this and reality hit me again.

"Worldwide Aeros, the company that developed the aircraft, said it also must secure more funding for the next round of flight testing, but is hopeful the Defense Department and others will step in again as investors."

[denbot]

2. It would be fuel efficient, but for military use..

How difficult could it be to shoot down?