Locomoskyner: Mighty Russian UFO-style airship

RussiaToday
March 03, 2010
Russia has launched a program to build a powerful, multi-purpose airship that will certainly cause many people on the ground to take notice. The Locomoskyner airship takes to the air with nothing more than helium, but will also have special outfitted hot air cells to regulate its buoyancy. Propulsion of the craft is provided by several electric motors, and small wings on the periphery of its disc-shaped hull give the vehicle extra lift in flight. The aircrafts unusual shape, which strikingly resembles an unidentified flying object (UFO) also gives it extra stability, and ability to resist wind currents to hover for extended periods above targets on the ground. Varying models of the Locomoskayners are expected to be used for the transportation of people and cargo, as well as surveillance and monitoring. The largest version in the works will be able to airlift 600 tons. The five-year project is based in the city of Ulyanovsk, some 900 km east from Moscow. The projects developer, LocomoSky, plans to generate $90 million worth of investment.