Gallery: Lockheed’s Hybrid Airship Is Part Blimp, Part Hovercraft, No Hot Air
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Lockheed Martin's *Hybrid Airship* combines the upsides of the airship with the ability of a hovercraft.
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A one-third scale version of Lockheed’s ship took off nearly eight years ago, and the venerable defense contractor is now three years from rolling out a production version.
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The 300-foot-long, three-chamber, helium-filled airship will act like a hovercraft while maneuvering on the ground, without the need for a proper runway or even fully smoothed surfaces.
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It will haul 20 tons of cargo—vehicles, mining equipment, military gear, disaster-relief supplies—at speeds up to 70 mph.
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It uses both buoyancy and aerodynamics to generate lift.
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The airship itself is shaped like a wing, what engineering types call a “lifting body.”
