Lockheed Contracted for Stratospheric Airship Program

Published: May 10, 2006
Source: www.if.afrl.af.mil



The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded a $8,796,220 contract to Lockheed Martin Corp., Littleton, Colo., to develop a power system for a stratospheric airship operating at more than 43 miles above the Earth.

The two-year contract is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of Arlington, Va., in support of its “Integrated Sensor Is Structure (ISIS)” program.

The goal of the ISIS program is to develop a stratospheric airship-based autonomous unmanned sensor with years of persistence in surveillance and tracking of air and ground targets. It will have the capability to track the most advanced cruise missiles at a distance in excess of 370 miles and dismounted enemy combatants on the ground nearly 200 miles away.

Achieving this goal will require the development of technologies that enable extremely large, lightweight phased-array radar antennas to be integrated into an airship platform. Major technical challenges are the development of ultra-lightweight antennas, antenna calibration technologies, power systems, station keeping approaches, and airships that support extremely large antennas.

“We are investigating four of those critical technologies here at Rome,” said Jeffery L. Mack, program manager in the AFRL Sensors Directorate, citing active electronically scanned arrays, lightweight/low power transmit/receive (TR) modules, advanced hull material for airships, and prime power for near space environments.

“Lockheed Martin engineers will perform preliminary design and analysis, development and validation testing of a novel power system for a stratospheric airship," said Mr. Mack. “The power system, most likely solar-regenerative supplemented by fuel for peak power consumption, must be capable of operating the airship’s radar, avionics and communications systems at least 99 percent of the time for more than one year.”
--- ends ---