The Pentagons Flying Walrus
Part blimp, part jumbo jet, the U.S. Department of Defense constructs a new
type of airship.
Red Herring Magazine
September 3, 2005
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=13453
The Pentagon pays a lot of money to ship troops and materiél to war zones
halfway around the world.
In late August, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded $2.6 billion in
contracts to companies like FedEx and UPS for one years worth of airlift
services. With unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, air freight bills can
start to add up.
With the aim of shipping more firepower for less money, the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to build a massive mongrel
of a flying machine. Dubbed Walrus, the proposed vessel is half jumbo jet,
half blimp.
Walrus will stay aloft through a combination of aerodynamics and gas
buoyancy. Weapons giant Lockheed Martin is competing with Torrance,
Californias tiny Aeros Aeronautical Systems. DARPA is paying both
companies about $3 million each to come up with designs for Walrus in one
year.
Its a zeppelin-sized order. DARPA wants the final product to carry 500
tons of war machine 12,000 nautical miles in less than a week. To function
in battle zones, Walrus will perform vertical takeoffs and landings on
rough ground with obstacles as big as 5-foot boulders.
Clear Need
The usefulness of such a vessel for non-military purposes was evident as
New Orleans sank into chaos after Hurricane Katrina left thousands of
people stranded, thirsty, and hungry.
While there were reports of angry residents taking potshots at rescue
helicopters in New Orleans, the Walrus will face more significant firepower
if it is ever dispatched to a war zone.
Edward Pevzner, manager of business development for Aeros Aeronautical
Systems, said that even a 1-foot-wide hole in the fabric of a 140-feet-long
airship would not bring it down in less than an hour. Thats plenty of time
for the pilot to land safely.
Would a surface-to-air missile pose a threat to the Walrus? Mr. Pevzner
said he couldnt discuss details about his companys plans for the Walrus
design, perhaps to keep good ideas out of the hands of rival Lockheed Martin.
Both companies have 12 months to deliver DARPA their best proposals, at
which time DARPA will pick one company to build a Walrus prototype.
If Walrus works for the Pentagon, there is plenty of demand in the private
sector for a bigger cargo carrier. The largest fuel-guzzling Boeing 747
cargo plane can only carry 400 tons.
There has to be demand for an airship that could haul 500 tons directly
from a Chinese factory to a Wal-Mart parking lot somewhere in the United
States.
And unless the Walrus is touching down at the peak of the Christmas
shopping season, landing at Wal-Mart should be safer than Baghdad
International Airport.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
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