Persistent surveillance on a non-satellite budget is goal of U.S. military airship development - Military & Aerospace Electronics

Whether tethered to the ground or floating for months and weeks at a time, manned and unmanned lighter-than-air vehicles packed with large electro-optic payloads are a key weapon in the U.S. military’s surveillance arsenal. Going back as far as the American Civil War, lighter-than-air vehicles -- airships, hot air balloons, and aerostats -- have performed a variety of missions for the...