Meet LEMV: the first of a new generation of advanced military airship

If you thought all unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) were variations on the familiar fixed-wing autonomous aircraft then think again.

Working with $0.5 billion of US defence funding, a team of American and British engineers are developing a 250 ft long reconnaissance drone based on a class of vehicle that many regard as little more than an intriguing footnote in aviation history: the airship.

Dubbed LEMV (long endurance multi intelligence vehicle) the helium-filled drone will, when it takes to the skies sometime next summer, become the world’s longest endurance UAV.

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