Editing Airship (section)

==Modern Airships==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2010}}

===Military===
In 2010, the U.S. Army awarded a $517 million (£350.6 million) contract to [[Northrop Grumman]] and partner [[Hybrid Air Vehicles]] to develop a [[Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle]] (LEMV) system, in the form of three HAV 304s.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/node/21009008?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/ar/hybridair "The Difference Engine: Not all hot air"], ''The Economist'', July 29, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=194252 "Photo Release – Northrop Grumman Awarded $517 Million Agreement for US Army Airship With Unblinking Eye"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623003627/http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=194252 |date=June 23, 2010 }}, ''Northrop Grumman'', June 14, 2010, access date July 29, 2010</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/5366082/250+foot-long-hybrid-airship-will-spy-over-afghanistan-battlefields-in-2011 |title=250-Foot Long Hybrid Airship Will Spy Over Afghanistan Battlefields in 2011 |website=Gizmodo |date=2009-09-23 |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111232347/http://gizmodo.com/5366082/250+foot-long-hybrid-airship-will-spy-over-afghanistan-battlefields-in-2011 |archive-date=2010-11-11 |url-status = dead}}</ref> The project was cancelled in February 2012 due to it being behind schedule and over budget; also the forthcoming U.S. withdrawal from [[Afghanistan]] where it was intended to be deployed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://insidedefense.com/201302132424647/Inside-Defense-General/Public-Articles/army-deflates-lemv-airship-cost-and-schedule-cited/menu-id-926.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320111016/http://insidedefense.com/201302132424647/Inside-Defense-General/Public-Articles/army-deflates-lemv-airship-cost-and-schedule-cited/menu-id-926.html|url-status=dead|title=InsideDefense.com – February 13, 2013: Army Deflates LEMV Airship; Cost And Schedule Cited|archivedate=March 20, 2013}}</ref> Following this the [[Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10]] was repurchased by [[Hybrid Air Vehicles]] then modified and reassembled in [[Bedford]], UK, and renamed the Airlander 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/03/massive_new_airship_to_enter_commercial_service_at_british_dirigible_base/|title=Massive new Airship to enter commercial service at British dirigible base|website=[[The Register]]}}</ref> As of 2018, it was being tested in readiness for its UK flight test programme.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38853721|title=Longest aircraft in crash repair tests|work=BBC News|date=4 February 2017}}</ref>

{{Interlanguage link|A-NSE|fr}}, a French company, manufactures and operates airships and aerostats. For 2 years, A-NSE has been testing its airships for the French Army. Airships and aerostats are operated to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) support. Their airships include many innovative features such as water ballast take-off and landing systems, variable geometry envelopes and thrust–vectoring systems.[[File:A-N400.jpg|thumb|A-N400 (A-NSE company)]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/vers-un-retour-du-dirigeable-pour-les-missions-de-surveillance-maritime |title=Vers un retour du dirigeable pour les missions de surveillance maritime? |language= fr |publisher=Mer et Marine |date=2011-10-17 |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref>

The U.S. government has funded two major projects in the high altitude arena. The [[Composite Hull High Altitude Powered Platform]] (CHHAPP) is sponsored by [[U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command]]. This aircraft is also sometimes called ''HiSentinel High-Altitude Airship''. This prototype ship made a five-hour test flight in September 2005. The second project, the [[high-altitude airship]] (HAA), is sponsored by DARPA. In 2005, DARPA awarded a contract for nearly $150&nbsp;million to Lockheed Martin for prototype development. First flight of the HAA was planned for 2008 but suffered programmatic and funding delays. The HAA project evolved into the High Altitude Long Endurance-Demonstrator (HALE-D). The U.S. Army and Lockheed Martin launched the first-of-its kind HALE-D on July 27, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2mYxoPGghA | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804113932/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2mYxoPGghA&gl=US&hl=en&amp;has_verified=1| archive-date=2011-08-04 | url-status=dead|title=HALE-D Short B-Roll |publisher=YouTube |date=2011-07-27 |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref> After attaining an altitude of {{convert|32000|ft|abbr=on}}, due to an anomaly, the company decided to abort the mission. The airship made a controlled descent in an unpopulated area of southwest Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2011/07/28/lockheed-martins-hale-d-airship-learns-to-fly-makes-a-crash-la/|title=Lockheed Martin's HALE-D airship learns to fly, makes a crash landing |date=28 July 2011 |publisher=Engadget |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P42voAU3rtM | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/P42voAU3rtM| archive-date=2021-10-31 | url-status=live|title=Lockheed Martin blimp goes down |publisher=WEWS NewsChannel5 |date=2011-07-27 |access-date=2012-11-15}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blimpinfo.com/uncategorized/lockheed-martin-high-altitude-airship-makes-maiden-voyage/ |title=Lockheed Martin High Altitude Airship's Maiden Voyage Aborted |publisher=The Lighter Than Air Society |access-date=2014-04-06}}</ref>

On 31 January 2006 Lockheed Martin made the first flight of their secretly built [[hybrid airship]] designated the [[P-791]]. The design is very similar to the [[SkyCat]], unsuccessfully promoted for many years by the British company [[Airship Industries#ATG and its successors|Advanced Technologies Group]] (ATG).

Dirigibles have been used in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]] for [[reconnaissance]] purposes, as they allow for constant monitoring of a specific area through cameras mounted on the airships.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/world/asia/in-afghanistan-spy-balloons-now-part-of-landscape.html|title=In Afghanistan, Spy Balloons Now Part of Landscape|last=Bowley|first=Graham|date=2012-05-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-09|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Passenger transport===
[[File:Zeppelin NT im Flug.jpg|thumb|A [[Zeppelin NT]] airship]]
[[File:Yokoso! Japan.jpg|thumb|''Yokoso! Japan'' passenger airship at the [[Malmi Airport]] in [[Helsinki]], Finland]]
In the 1990s, the successor of the original Zeppelin company in [[Friedrichshafen]], the ''Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH'', reengaged in airship construction. The first experimental craft (later christened ''Friedrichshafen'') of the type "[[Zeppelin NT]]" flew in September 1997. Though larger than common blimps, the ''Neue Technologie'' (New Technology) zeppelins are much smaller than their giant ancestors and not actually Zeppelin-types in the classical sense. They are sophisticated semirigids. Apart from the greater payload, their main advantages compared to blimps are higher speed and excellent maneuverability. Meanwhile, several ''Zeppelin NT'' have been produced and operated profitably in joyrides, research flights and similar applications.

In June 2004, a Zeppelin NT was sold for the first time to a Japanese company, Nippon Airship Corporation, for tourism and advertising mainly around Tokyo. It was also given a role at the [[Expo 2005|2005 Expo]] in [[Aichi]]. The aircraft began a flight from Friedrichshafen to Japan, stopping at [[Geneva]], Paris, [[Rotterdam]], [[Munich]], Berlin, [[Stockholm]] and other European cities to carry passengers on short legs of the flight. Russian authorities denied overflight permission, so the airship had to be dismantled and shipped to Japan rather than following the historic [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin#Round-the-world flight (1929)|''Graf Zeppelin'' flight from Germany to Japan]].

In 2008, [[Airship Ventures|Airship Ventures Inc.]] began operations from [[Moffett Federal Airfield]] near [[Mountain View, California]] and until November 2012 offered tours of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] for up to 12 passengers.

===Exploration===
In November 2005, [[De Beers]], a diamond mining company, launched an airship exploration program over the remote [[Kalahari Desert]]. A [[Zeppelin NT]], equipped with a Bell Geospace [[gravity gradiometer]], was used to find potential diamond mines by scanning the local geography for low-density rock formations, known as [[kimberlite pipes]]. On 21 September 2007, the airship was severely damaged by a whirlwind while in [[Botswana]]. One crew member, who was on watch aboard the moored craft, was slightly injured but released after overnight observation in hospital.
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===Thermal===
[[File:Prallluftschiff 01 KMJ.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Thermal airship]] (manufacturer GEFA-FLUG/Germany)]]

Several companies, such as [[Cameron Balloons]] in [[Bristol]], United Kingdom, build [[Thermal airship|hot-air airships]]. These combine the structures of both hot-air balloons and small airships. The envelope is the normal cigar shape, complete with tail fins, but is inflated with hot air instead of helium to provide the lifting force. A small gondola, carrying the pilot and passengers, a small engine, and the burners to provide the hot air are suspended below the envelope, beneath an opening through which the burners protrude.

Hot-air airships typically cost less to buy and maintain than modern helium-based [[blimp]]s, and can be quickly deflated after flights. This makes them easy to carry in trailers or trucks and inexpensive to store. They are usually very slow moving, with a typical top speed of {{convert|25|–|30|km/h|mph m/s|abbr=on}}. They are mainly used for advertising, but at least one has been used in [[rainforest]]s for wildlife observation, as they can be easily transported to remote areas.

===Unmanned remote===
[[Remote control|Remote-controlled]] (RC) airships, a type of [[unmanned aerial system]] (UAS), are sometimes used for commercial purposes such as advertising and aerial video and photography as well as recreational purposes. They are particularly common as an advertising mechanism at indoor stadiums. While RC airships are sometimes flown outdoors, doing so for commercial purposes is illegal in the US.<ref>[http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/uas/reg/media/frnotice_uas.pdf FAA Docket FAA-2006-25714] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620011126/http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/uas/reg/media/frnotice_uas.pdf |date=June 20, 2007 }}, Federal Aviation Authority.</ref> Commercial use of an unmanned airship must be certified under part 121.{{clarify|date=September 2016}}

=== Adventures ===
In 2008, French adventurer [[:fr:Stéphane Rousson|Stephane Rousson]] attempted to cross the English Channel with a muscular pedal powered airship.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/29/aeronautics|title = Pedal-power Channel pioneer is beaten by a breeze |website = [[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 28 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/france/paris/stephane-rousson-fails-in-attempt-at-first-channel-crossing-by-pedal-powered-airship-pg90llc7mq0 |title = Stephane Rousson fails in attempt at first channel crossing by pedal powered airship|last1 = Smyth|first1 = Chris}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://newatlas.com/french-cyclist-to-attempt-channel-crossing-on-pedal-powered-airship/9246/ |title = French cyclist to attempt channel crossing on pedal-powered airship |date = May 2008}}</ref>

Stephane Rousson also flies the Aérosail, a [[:fr:Voilier des airs|sky sailing yacht]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.redbull.com/int-en/stephane-rousson |title=Stéphane Rousson: Aerosail: motorless zeppelin *photos* |publisher=Redbull.com |date= 2 August 2016|access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alumni.enac.fr/fr/news/stephane-rousson-ce-merveilleux-fou-volant-dans-ses-droles-de-machines-entre-ciel-et-mer-747 |title = Stéphane Rousson, ce " merveilleux fou volant dans ses drôles de machines " entre ciel et mer}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.monacomatin.mc/faits-societe/le-nicois-stephane-rousson-pret-a-faire-decoller-l-aerosail-de-monaco-350111 |title=Le Niçois Stéphane Rousson prêt à faire décoller l'aerosail de Monaco |date=27 March 2015}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Aerosail.jpg|Aerosail
File:Mlle Louise ballon dirigeable à propulsion humaine.jpg|Mlle Louise pedal Airship by Stephane Rousson	
File:Zeppy Piloté par Stephane Belgrand Rousson à Villefranche sur Mer.jpg|Zeppy 3 by Stephane Rousson	
File:Zeppy Base Nature Frejus.jpg|Zeppy One
</gallery>