Lockheed in U.S. Airship Deal

Lockheed Martin Corp. won a $149-million contract Thursday to build a prototype unmanned airship about 17 times the size of a Goodyear blimp that would hover about 60,000 feet above the Earth.

The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency said the High-Altitude Airship would be untethered, be able to remain in place for one month over a designated place, and be able to carry as many as 500 pounds of sensors that could detect enemy ballistic missiles.

Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner said the program was aimed at exploring the possibility of using the airship to track and detect ballistic missile launches.

Under the contract, which runs through November 2010, Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed would build and fly the prototype, to “prove its military utility,” Lockheed spokeswoman Kate Dunlap said.

The military has been exploring possible military uses of near-space vehicles partly because they are far less expensive to launch and operate than satellites.