Article Posted on : - Jul 28, 2011

The HALE-D airship. A Lockheed photo

AKRON (BNS): The first demonstration flight of a Lockheed-built unmanned airship being developed for the US Army has faltered in achieving the desired altitude.

The demonstration flight of High Altitude Long Endurance-Demonstrator (HALE-D) unmanned solar power air vehicle was conducted on Wednesday morning.

According to Lockheed, the aircraft successfully launched at 5:47 a.m. out of the Airdock in Akron, Ohio.

It reached an altitude of approximately 32,000 feet, however, a technical anomaly prevented the airship from attaining its target altitude of 60,000 feet and the HALE-D team decided to terminate the flight, the company said.

After remaining in air for over two hours, the airship descended without incident at 8:26 a.m. in southwestern Pennsylvania to a predetermined landing location, the company said.

“While we didn’t reach the target altitude, first flights of new technologies like HALE-D also afford us the ability to learn and test with a mind toward future developments,” said Dan Schultz, vice president ship and aviation systems for Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors business.

“We demonstrated a variety of advanced technologies, including launch and control of the airship, communications links, unique propulsion system, solar array electricity generation, remote piloting communications and control capability, in-flight operations, and controlled vehicle recovery to a remote un-populated area,” the official said.

Lockheed Martin is in the process of recovering the airship and will conduct a full evaluation.

The HALE-D unmanned lighter-than-air vehicle is designed to hover 12 miles above the earth’s surface for extended periods of time. It will operate above the jet stream in a geostationary position to deliver persistent station keeping as a surveillance platform, telecommunications relay, or a weather observer.

Lockheed was contracted by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command to develop the airship for demonstrating advanced new technologies and capabilities for keeping American soldiers safer through improved communications.