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The LEMV, being tested soon, is designed to stay aloft for weeks at a time By Dan Smith Posted 06.08.2009 at 2:12 pm 14 Comments Long Endurance Multi-INT Vehicle: Floating sentinel Since the airship glory days of the early part of the century, blimps have certainly lost some of their cachet, relegated to hovering over sporting events and not much else. However, the Army is about to test launch an unmanned hybrid airship to be used for surveillance missions in Afghanistan. The Long Endurance Multi-INT Vehicle, or LEMV, is an impressive combination of endurance, carrying capacity, and speed (relatively speaking). The aircraft can be launched easily for missions with up to 3-weeks of continuous airtime carrying a 2,500 lb payload at altitudes of 20,000 ft. Larger payloads will lower the aircraft's ceiling slightly. Its lift and propulsion systems are equipped to maintain an average speed of 20 kts, but can "dash" at speeds of up to 80 kts when needed. Over the course of its ...