Fri, Aug 10, 2012 Medium-Altitude-Long-Endurance Lighter-Than-
Air Aircraft Can Operate Manned Or Unmanned In its first flight,
the Army's hybrid air vehicle known as the Long Endurance Multi-
Intelligence Vehicle, or LEMV, stayed aloft over Joint Base
McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ, for more than 90 minutes on August 7.
The LEMV, like a blimp, is capable of carrying multiple
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads for more
than 21 days at altitudes greater than 22,000 feet. The U.S.
Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic
Command conducted the first flight test of vehicle. "Murphy
Bays" on the LEMV can carry just about any kind of sensor or
equipment, and design specifications for the LEMV require the
vehicle to provide up to 16 kilowatts of electrical power for
those payloads. The LEMV is intended to be used to conduct long-
term Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, or ISR, and
persistent stare-type missions, and can also be used as a
communications relay. The primary