Post by tbr on Jul 30, 2019 20:19:55 GMT -6
Blimps were trialled using heavyweight (!) ASW torpedoes in the early Cold War. Would have been a very interesting setup, with a large (and heavy) low frequency "dipping sonar" (using 1960 technology HELRAS performance would have been possible with space/weight allowances of a blimp) and cradle launched wire guided ASW torpedoes blimps could have been very competitive ASW units well beyond their demise in the USN, especially if the Russians/Soviets had learned earlier to quieten their submarines, leading to greater importance for active sonar.
Today however there is scant solution space for blimps between heavy ASW helicopters and MPA's, mostly due to technological advanced in sensor technology and helicopter endurance and the blimp and for ISR and AWACS there is a plethora of manned and unmanned heavier than air platforms. I see the most potential for lighter-than-air in tethered "radar balloons" where there is no ground elevation available.
Today however there is scant solution space for blimps between heavy ASW helicopters and MPA's, mostly due to technological advanced in sensor technology and helicopter endurance and the blimp and for ISR and AWACS there is a plethora of manned and unmanned heavier than air platforms. I see the most potential for lighter-than-air in tethered "radar balloons" where there is no ground elevation available.