Claire Carter
The world’s largest aircraft which can stay airborne for up to three weeks and will be vital in delivering several tonnes of humanitarian aid has been unveiled.
The 300ft (91m) ship is part plane, airship and helicopter, and there are plans to eventually use it to transport 50 tonnes of freight.
It is environmentally friendly and will be used for surveillance and communications as well as delivering aid.
Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, compared the ship to Thunderbird 2 and described the craft as a “game changer.”
“It will be able to cross the Atlantic and launch things right where they need to be,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme.
“It can reach about 100mph and stay airborne for about three-and-a-half days.”
The low carbon ship, known as the HAV304, is about 70 per cent more environmentally friendly than a cargo plane and doesn’t need a runway to take off.
It has been displayed at Cardington in Bedfordshire in the only hangar big enough to accommodate it.
It is due to fly in the UK later this year and the project has just received a £2.5 million Government grant to fund research into energy efficient and quieter planes.
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said: “The growing aerospace sector has the potential to generate thousands of new jobs and billions of pounds to the UK economy in contracts.
“That is why so much effort is being put in by government and industry to ensure we stay ahead of the competition and build on our strong position as second in the world for aerospace.”
The ship has been Created by Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd and first flown in the USA.
It will eventually lead to the development of the Airlander 50, which would be able to transport 50 tonnes of freight.
The company plans to make between 600 and 1,000 of these aircraft in future.
sure, they made it to deliver food, cough, cough. It won’t be used to deliver weapons!
Yeah but get it in a storm and watch it get ripped to shreds.