Airship: Iraq & Afghanistan

GATES WANTS NEW ISR AIRSHIPS FOR AFGHANISTAN
6 May 2009
Inside Missile Defense
IMISS
Vol. 15, No. 9

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has approved a new rapid acquisition effort to deploy to Afghanistan unmanned airships capable of remaining aloft for three consecutive weeks, according to defense officials.

The move is part of an initiative to experiment with new types of aircraft that give commanders more of what they say is their No. 1 need -- additional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability.

The previously unreported project to field a Long Endurance Multi-payload Vehicle (LEMV) hybrid airship is funded in the Pentagon's fiscal year 2010 budget request at the behest of Gates' ISR Task Force, which hopes to launch an operational combat airship in Central Asia as soon as 2011, according to defense officials.

"The Department of Defense supports the development of lighter-than-air technology for ISR use," Ed Loxterkamp, head of acquisition for the ISR Task Force, told InsideDefense.com on April 24 through a spokesman. "We believe the long endurance they can provide will help mitigate the drain on our ISR resources, both fiscal and manpower. We would expect to demonstrate this capability within 18 months of receiving authority to proceed."

The Army, which will lead the LEMV project, is already laying the groundwork. In an April 22 notice to industry formally announcing the Pentagon's interest in a lighter-than-air ISR vehicle for Afghanistan, Army Space and Missile Defense Command said the technical objectives for the LEMV include an unmanned air vehicle capable of being controlled through an existing Defense Department ground station; three-week flight endurance; and the ability to carry a 2,500-pound package of sensors. It must also be able to operate at 20,000 foot altitude and hold a fixed position in the sky.

"The LEMV will be utilized to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support in multiple environments, including combat areas," according to the Army notice.
The Army LEMV notice is not a request for proposals. Instead, it is intended to allow the Pentagon to get a feel by early this month for which companies might be in a position to field a LEMV hybrid airship. Accordingly, interested parties are required by May 7 to provide a white paper "discussing their ability to meet the stated requirements."

"Potential offerors are highly encouraged to submit innovative technology or unique abilities that can potentially improve mission performance, mitigate risk, reduce cost or expedite schedule," according to the statement.

The project will be conducted as a rapid acquisition effort. The Pentagon hopes to wrap up developmental and operational testing in no more than a year and a half, according to the statement.

On April 6, Gates announced plans to add $2 billion to the Pentagon's FY-10 base budget for ISR support to fighting forces, including funding to back efforts that might supplement the Defense Department's current inventory of fixed-wing manned and unmanned aircraft.

"We will initiate and [conduct] research and development on a number of ISR enhancements and experimental platforms optimized for today's battlefield," the defense secretary said April 6. Deploying an unmanned, untethered lighter-than-air vehicle to Afghanistan would mark a new chapter in the U.S. military's long history with airships, which typically use helium to stay aloft. Airships can remain in the air for considerably longer periods than fixed-wing aircraft and cost considerably less per hour to operate than a manned aircraft, defense officials say. They also are far less expensive than satellites.

The Army operates the Rapid Aerostat Initial Development system in Iraq and Afghanistan. RAID is tethered to the ground and equipped with a suite of sensors to provide a persistent overhead view at large bases. The Pentagon is also developing the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, an airship to detect cruise missiles. Other airship projects include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's ISIS program, which is focused on the development of a stratospheric airship than can hang high in the sky for years; and efforts to develop an airship capable of hauling cargo.

The Marine Corps last month issued an RFP in a bid to hire a commercial firm to provide the services of an unmanned aircraft -- which could be an airship -- to deliver cargo to units dispersed across Afghanistan.
Sources in industry and government say funding for the LEMV program could be as much as $125 million in FY-10.