In previous columns, I've bemoaned the lack of 'big ideas' in aviation and sketched out the case for re-evaluating the practicability of large airships. Well, I'm delighted to report that the Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has come up with an idea that's not just big in every sense of the word, but also involves lighter-than-air craft. This could be my dream project. DARPA's Tactical Technology Office (TTO) has issued a revised draft solicitation for the development of what it terms an 'objective air vehicle' (OAV). The scaleable design should, it says, be capable of being developed into a craft that can move more than 500 tonnes over a distance of more than 6,000 nautical miles, all without refuelling.
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