First Flight Test For Army's LEMV Air Vehicle | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-10.06.25

AirborneNextGen-
10.07.25

Airborne-Unlimited-10.08.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-10.09.25

AirborneUnlimited-10.10.25

Fri, Aug 10, 2012

First Flight Test For Army's LEMV Air Vehicle

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 objective of the first flight was to perform a safe launch and recovery of the LEMV. A secondary goal was to verify the flight control system operation. Additional objectives included airworthiness testing and demonstration, as well as system-level performance verification. All objectives were met during the first flight.
 
The football field-sized LEMV can operate at altitudes greater than 22,000 feet above mean sea level, has a 2,000 mile radius of action, can carry a 2,750 pound ISR payload for more than 21 days, and boasts a fuel consumption that is more than 10 times less than comparable capabilities. Design requirements for the LEMV include providing up to 16 kilowatts of electrical power for payload, as well as runway independence.
 
The LEMV is designed to be a recoverable and reusable multi-mission platform. It can be forward located to support extended geostationary operations from austere locations and capable of beyond-line-of-sight command and control. During this first flight, the LEMV was manned, though the air vehicle can also operate unmanned.
 
Following a planned and detailed inspection of the vehicle, there will be additional manned flights.

(Image provided by the U.S. Army)

FMI: www.army.mil

Advertisement

More News

True Blue Power and Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics Power NBAA25 Coverage

Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics and True Blue Power ANN's NBAA 2025 Coverage... Visit Them At Booth #3436 101 Aviation Nears STC Approval for Lithium Battery Upgrade on Gulf>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (10.11.25): Hertz

Hertz The standard radio equivalent of frequency in cycles per second of an electromagnetic wave. Kilohertz (kHz) is a frequency of one thousand cycles per second. Megahertz (MHz) >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (10.11.25)

“NATCA does not endorse, support, or condone any federal employees participating in or endorsing a coordinated activity that negatively affects the capacity of the NAS, or an>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (10.11.25)

Aero Linx: European Association for Aviation Psychology (EAAP) Since 1956 the European Association for Aviation Psychology (EAAP) provides a forum for professionals working in the >[...]

NTSB Prelim: Pegasus Quantum 15

Aircraft Experienced A Total Loss Of Engine Power During A Go-Around Attempt And Then Impacted A Soybean Field On September 13, 2025, at 1625 eastern daylight time, a Pegasus Quant>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC