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U.S. Plans: Pentagon Looks to Blimps for Missile Defense The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has announced a search for contractors to build an airship that would float for months at an altitude of 70,000 feet, carry up to 4,000 pounds and help defend against ballistic and cruise missiles (see GSN, Oct. 28). Pentagon officials have said that airships could play a vital role in defending the United States, possibly providing an early warning system against ballistic missile attacks, the Los Angeles Times reported today. “We are very excited about high-altitude airships,” Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts Sue Payton said. Missile Defense Agency planners, who have set a February due date for proposed airship designs, have already begun speaking with two major U.S. defense contractors about prospective plans. Defense officials have said they expect defense industry giants Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon as well as smaller companies to compete for the three-year contract to build a prototype airship. Officials said they hope to award the contract in March, possibly to more than one firm. The Pentagon is working to build an operational airship by 2010, according to the Times. Defense officials recently told industry representatives of a possible scenario in which 10 airships would line the coasts of the United States to detect and track ballistic and cruise missiles. In the scenario, the airships would carry 40-foot radars, and eventually would also carry lasers to shoot down incoming missiles. In meetings with defense contractors, defense officials also discussed monitoring terrorist activity on the ground, the Times reported (Peter Pae, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 11). The proposed airship, which could watch over an area with a 1,200-kilometer diameter, has the backing of the U.S. Northern Command, Aviation Week reported today. The Missile Defense Agency has said it wants to conduct a first flight of the blimp in 2005, and officials are working toward a missile defense capability by 2006. The airship will most likely begin operating with infrared, electro-optical and communications payloads, but Gary Payton, director of the agency’s advanced technology office, said he wants to eventually incorporate laser radar as well (Robert Wall, Aviation Week, Nov. 11).
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