Here is the official US Govt report:
http://www.gao.gov/assets/650/649661.pdf
LEMV is a technology demonstration project, expected to develop a hybrid prototype airship for ISR purposes in a forward combat environment. The project was initiated in response to an urgent need request. The Army is supposed to complete system level development and testing within the United States within 18 months after contract award (June 2010) and be ready for transport to Afghanistan for a joint military utility assessment and follow-on demonstration. The required on-station duration time is 21 days at an altitude of 20,000 feet. Pending the results of the joint military utility assessment and other reviews and evaluations, the Army will determine whether or not to pursue a program of record.
According to the program office, the LEMV hybrid airship is scheduled to undergo 33 manned flights totaling approximately 500 hours. The Army successfully launched and recovered LEMV during its first flight in August 2012. The initial date for deployment was January 2012; currently, the deployment date is indefinite. LEMV development is behind schedule 10 months (representing about a 56 percent schedule increase) due to issues with fabric production, getting foreign parts through customs, adverse weather conditions causing the evacuation of work crews, and first time integration and testing issues. Also, LEMV is 12,000 pounds overweight because it has weight issues with sub-systems, such as tailfins, exceeding weight thresholds. According to the program, the increased weight reduces the airship’s estimated on-station endurance at an altitude of 20,000 feet from the required 21 days to 4 to 5 days, representing at least a 76 percent reduction However, current plans, according to program officials, call for operating the airship at 16,000, feet which should enable on-station duration time to be 16 days with minimal impacts to operational effectiveness (other than about a 24 percent reduction to on-station endurance). The biggest risk to program development is the ambitious schedule of 18 months. The Army identified a fiscal year 2012 funding shortfall of $21.3 million resulting from the need for additional engineering and production support to mitigate and resolve technical issues at the LEMV assembly facility.
I hate to say it...
...I F***ing well told you so!
LJ
PS See you back on the forum in 15 years time when some bright spark 'invents' the concept of airships all over again.
