US Army's LEMV successfully completes maiden flight

LEMV is a persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform that flew for more than 90 minutes over Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey, on 7 August.

Described as the world’s largest and most persistent lighter-than-air optionally piloted aircraft, LEMV was designed, built and flown in 24 months by prime contractor Northrop Grumman and an industry team that included Cranfield-based Hybrid Air Vehicles, which was responsible for air vehicle design.

In use, LEMV can reportedly operate in partnership with other land-, sea- and air-based assets, providing unmanned surveillance of up to 21 days at up to 20,000ft (6,096m) and up to five days manned at 16,000ft.

According to a statement, the endurance ability of the LEMV system comes from a design that is built around Hybrid Air Vehicles’ HAV304 aircraft design and Northrop Grumman’s open system architecture design, which provides a modular and flexible payload capability along with room for mission expansion and growth.