military’s U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes, among other iconic aircraft-has turned one of its creations loose in the commercial market.Īt this point, it’s unclear exactly what that market is. It also marks the first time Lockheed’s experimental Skunk Works lab-the company’s Palmdale, Calif.-based facility that gave birth to the U.S. Lockheed has since spent more than $100 million tinkering with its airship designs, looking for the right size, capability, and markets. That program fell victim to shrinking military budgets, a spike in helium prices, and the winding down of U.S. The LMH-1 is the descendant of a Pentagon program that sought airships as a means of offering around-the-clock aerial surveillance over wide areas during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Get Data Sheet, Fortune ’s technology newsletter. SLA already has four to five customers ready to give the airships a chance once they’re finally in the air, he said. What was acceptable when oil was at $90 a barrel isn’t realistic anymore, SLA Chief Executive Officer Mike Kendrick told Bloomberg in an interview. That’s changing as persistent low oil prices have altered business models at many of the world’s major oil and gas companies. SLA plans to target the oil, gas, and mining industries, which spend billions on logistics annually, building roads, helipads, and other infrastructure in order to manage moving equipment and personnel to far-flung corners of the world.įor years, Lockheed has positioned its hybrid airship-known as LMH-1-as a cheaper and more sustainable way to move cargo, spurring only lukewarm interest from potential customers. U.K.-based Straightline Aviation (SLA) has agreed to purchase up to 12 of the vehicles for a collective $480 million, enabling the buyer to deliver cargo to remote locations that lack roads or other infrastructure.Įach of the helium-filled airships measures nearly a football field in length, can haul 20 metric tons of cargo (as well as 19 passengers plus crew), and can land or hover just about anywhere.
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