DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
(C) Hover Hammer, the Steerable Airship (repost)
FROM:
National Tactical Integration Office (S14)
Run Date: 08/30/2004
(C) It's got dual airbags, three engines and one of the most sophisticated audio systems around.
No, it's not the latest sports car from Europe -- it's Hover Hammer, a steerable airship that may
become one of the multi-Int platforms of the future.
Hover Hammer
(C) Hover Hammer is a 62-foot diameter airship with engines on either side and one at the
back. It can be manned or remotely piloted and has already done demonstration flights up to
10,700 feet. The National Tactical Integration Office National Tactical Integration Office here at
NSA mounted a Digital Receiver Technology model 1301 receiver onboard the airship, that was
remotely operated via line-of-sight radio by a ground based operator. The airship launched from
an airfield near Solomons Island, Maryland and was able to intercept international shipping data
emanating from the Long Island, New York area, including lines of bearing.
(U) It is a helium-filled sphere inside another sphere, constructed of Spectra, the same material
used to make bullet-proof vests. It has a 1000 lb payload capacity at present, with a planned
5000 lb capacity. It "hovers" above small arms fire, has a negligible IR signature, and radar
can't detect it. In an early-1980's incident, a straying balloon stayed aloft despite being strafed
twice by an F-16 fighter.
(U) More experiments, including the use of onboard imagery sensors, are being conducted. The
current plans are to develop the airship for unmanned operations at altitudes of approximately
20,000 feet for up to 48 hours. Future variants are planned to be 200 feet in diameter and will
operate at 68,000 feet with mission durations of up to six months. NTIO and S3's Tactical
Platforms are already collaborating on options for deploying SIGINT systems on this platform.
(U//FOUO) More information on Hover Hammer is available from NTIO ("go NSA-NTI" on NSA
Net) -- the poc is
Chief of the Air Operations and Programs
Branch (S1411).
(U) This article first appeared on August 9, 2004.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108