Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd (HAV), the designer of Airlander, a hybrid aircraft with dual-use applications, has today announced the reservation of a further three aircraft, representing the first Airlander 10 aircraft destined for defence use.
“Airlander 10 has been designed and will initially be certified for civil use, but its versatile nature means it can be modified to meet customer needs, with its large, rapidly reconfigurable cabin perfectly suited to meeting the fast-paced and ever-changing needs of the military market,” said the company in a press release. “Whether equipped with multispectral sensor suites for ISR roles, using the space to transport personnel, materiel, and equipment to austere environments, or to hold, release, and recover drone swarms, Airlander offers new possibilities in defence.
Airlander 10 will begin testing in 2027 and enter service following Type Certification, said the company. Airlander 10 can carry over 100 passengers, a ten-ton payload of freight, or alternatively providing a highly instrumented cabin for persistent surveillance, reconnaissance and communications for national security, commercial, or disaster response. “Airlander’s ability to fly at different altitudes for up to five days and modular payload design make it a versatile, multi-use platform ideal for government and commercial users. The Airlander design scales easily into larger variants that could carry up to 200 tonnes over long distances. Airlander, particularly larger variants, is well suited to providing logistics to remote or disaster response areas globally because of the aircraft’s unique ability to land on any relatively flat surface with no need for prepared runways. The Airlander Futures Network has been established and is working with market shapers in logistics to refine the specification of these larger aircraft. “
George Land, Executive Director Sales at Hybrid Air Vehicles, said: “Its versatility, high payload, and endurance have always given Airlander 10 obvious advantages over other aircraft in C4ISR. As warfare evolves to meet current threats this capability is ever more valuable, and we have worked hard to showcase the aircraft’s capabilities. We are pleased to be working with an undisclosed customer to provide three aircraft for further customisation. We expect other military reservations to follow and look forward to providing more detail in the future.”
For more information
https://www.hybridairvehicles.com/