NationStates Jolt Archive

:idea: Hyperion Class Rigid Airship
http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/LinkPhoto?GUID=71b94c61-2186-5777-955c-394d1ed248a2&size=
The Hyperion Class of Rigid Airship is a helium filled, rigid airship (not a blimp). The helium is contained in several self-sealing cells which are packed in a kevlar/polymer composite skin which is wrapped around a lightwieght titanium alloy skeleton. There are 8 turboprops which provide foward flight propulsion, 5 gas turbines powering 4 rotating and one stationary ducted fan provide additonal power(one fan is located in the tail the other 4 help make speedy liftoffs with thurst vectoring).The Hyperion class combines the capabilites of the AC-130 Spectre gunship, the KC-10/KC-130 Tankers, the E-2C Hawkeye, the Graf Zepplins of WWI, the B-52 bomber, the A-10 and the 747-400 ABL aircraft. It carries an impressive amount of cannons and machine guns and can saturate and orbit an area for many hours laying down cover fire. It also carries a large array of anti-tank, anti- aircraft anti-ship or cruise missles and many types of bombs. It can hold 20 fully equipped paratroopers or spec ops in the cargo bay. In lieu of troops, the cargo bay can hold a MOAB or Daisy Cutter or Hades fuel-air bomb. A massive radar is enclosed by the skin of the airship (the skin acts as a massive radome) It can tract multiple airborne targets. If if it tracks an ICBM, SCUD, or cruise missile, it has the ability to destroy it with its airborne laser(ABL). The ABL can also be used for defense, to destroy SAMs or AAMs. (It carries a large variety and quantiy of counter measures to keep it protected from enemy fire. If a missile does get by all the complex systems, the airframe can take a heavy hit since it is heavily armored with boron carbide plates. and should the skin of the airship be punctured, up to golf ball sized holes can be self-sealed. It can also refuel helicopters, bombers, fighters, even another Airship via 2 house and drouge systems and 1 flying boom system. Also all on board batteries and fuel-cell systems are supplementd by solar panels which recharce all systems, in-flight, saving on fuel.
Specifications
Crew: 4 flight crew, 16 weapons/AWACS operators, 1 boom operator, up to 20 paratroops.
Length: many feet
Power Plant: (8} Turboprops (5) Gas Turbines in vectorable/rotating ducts.
Service Celing: 30,000 feet,
Cruising Speed: 280mph
Maximum Speed: 320mph
Weapons
(8} 56mm rapid fire Cannons in 4 turrets
(2) 105mm Howitzers in 2 turrets
(4) 30mm 3 barrel cannons in 2 turrets
(1) ABL/COIL High Energy Laser in turret
(7) CIWS 20mm Phalanx turrets
(2) Cruise missiles up to the size of a SS-N-22
(1) 40mm MK-109 Grenade machine gun in nose turret
(1) 25mm 3 Barrel Gatling Cannon in nose turret
(2) 25mm Bushmaster MGs in 1 rear turret
(4) bomb bays that can carry a number of laser guided bombs, JDAMs, nuclear bombs, air to ground missiles,anti-ship missiles, nuclear or conventional depth charges, phoenix or amraam anti-air missiles
(48} AIM-9Z Sidewinder in 2 turret launchers
(8} FIM-92 Stinger in 4 swivel mounts
(6) Tomahawk Cruise Missiles
(6) Patriot PAC-3 modified SAMs in 2 launchers
(12) AGM-65 Mavericks
(24) Rockeye cluster bombs or regular bombs of simialr size, or (8} JDAM sized bombs on wing bomb racks
(4) AIM-120 AMRAAM
(12) AIM-132 ASRAAM
(4) AIM-54 Phoenix missle on 360 degree turret mount.
(2) ALMV/ASAT missiles
Counter Measures/Electronics
300 RR-129A/AL Chaff Countermeasures
40 MJU-53/B Infrared Decoy Flare
106 MJU-51/B Advanced Infrared Flare
AN/AAQ-24 DIRCM pod
2 AN/ALQ-178 ECM pods
ALR-56C Radar Warning Receiver
Air Search Radome (Same as the one on the E-2C)

....pretty no?

*takes out a harpoon gun* Target Practice!

*takes out a harpoon gun* Target Practice!

That would be ineffective against a rigid airship.

Yeah, seeing how you would be covered by a sheer wall of lead from the 25 or so heavy guns seconds after you fired the harpoon, which would probly not even peirce the skin.

How strong is the armor?

On the skin of the helium compartments, its only as strong as say your standard bullet proof vest, but the fuselage and engines, can take several hits from 23mm cannons (the ZSU-23-4, a very popular mobile anti-aircraftgun use 23mm cannons) or 20mm machine guns. We have test fired penetrator rounds of 14.5mm and 20mm from our NTW-20 anti-material sniper rifles, and failed to pierce the fuel tanks or underside body panels. 7.62mm machine gun and rifle fire was absorbed or deflected by the skin armor in tests, a .50 caliber BMG round fired from a Barret M82A3 was able to pierce the skin, but the hole was sealed and the secondary cell which is inside of the outer skin held fast with only minor damage, no puntcure. If it were to lose its helium, it could use its vectoring engines to guide itself to a soft landing, provided it wasnt too high. At high altitudes a parachute system can be employed to save the fuselage and its crew.

How expensive would these be?


If a group of fighters strafed the airship and destroyed its helium, and launches missiles at the gondola, what would happen?

What would happen if a destroyer or cruiser launched a few harpoons at it?

If a group of fighters strafed the airship it would probly not destroy the helium section since the holes can self seal quite rapidly, and there is little chance, of them getting that close since there are 24 top side mounted sidewinders and 6 PAC-3 Patriot missiles that could take the fighters out if they got into gun range. Also its suggested you provide fighter support as would any ground attack aircraft.
Harpoon missiles, can be fooled by the CM systems (chaff) or destroyed by the laser. But harpoons are not really good against airborne targets like this. If the helium section is destroyed then it must make an emergency landing as described above. These will be sold at my store in a short while, they will be around 1 billion dollars.

How many hits from the standard AMRAAM can it sustain without the countermeasures interfering?

probly 4 hits

Welcome to the wonderful world of militarized semirigid airships. They've served us well over time...hopefully they will serve you as well.

How much?

EDIT:

Never mind, by the time our post was up the answer has already been given. Appologies.

Welcome to the wonderful world of militarized semirigid airships. They've served us well over time...hopefully they will serve you as well.
Airships in RL can actually be quite "effiecent", the US military use it for recon I believe.

For me, I have a few airships to do recon duties, with countermeasures and armour installed.

They will be sold in the 1 billion dollar range they are not for sale quite yet, when our contract with the TPM and Tyrador Airforces and Navies is complete they will be offered for sale, in about 1 year.

(btw i got 2 othe rigid airships and 1 blimp coming up soon)

Welcome to the wonderful world of militarized semirigid airships. They've served us well over time...hopefully they will serve you as well.
Airships in RL can actually be quite "effiecent", the US military use it for recon I believe.

For me, I have a few airships to do recon duties, with countermeasures and armour installed.
OOC:
Omz, I'm on the final stages of updating my strategic transport project (Western Asian- Strategic Transport Development Effort). The damn things are all goin' on sale soon (at the normal spot).

On the skin of the helium compartments, its only as strong as say your standard bullet proof vest, but the fuselage and engines, can take several hits from 23mm cannons (the ZSU-23-4, a very popular mobile anti-aircraftgun use 23mm cannons) or 20mm machine guns. We have test fired penetrator rounds of 14.5mm and 20mm from our NTW-20 anti-material sniper rifles, and failed to pierce the fuel tanks or underside body panels. 7.62mm machine gun and rifle fire was absorbed or deflected by the skin armor in tests, a .50 caliber BMG round fired from a Barret M82A3 was able to pierce the skin, but the hole was sealed and the secondary cell which is inside of the outer skin held fast with only minor damage, no puntcure. If it were to lose its helium, it could use its vectoring engines to guide itself to a soft landing, provided it wasnt too high. At high altitudes a parachute system can be employed to save the fuselage and its crew.
Be careful. While the Soviet ZSU-23 IS all over the place, that's actually rather small for an AA gun. Many nations, including China, Japan, Germany, Britain, and France, currently use 35mm guns, which will eat this for breakfast. Even Russia is switching to the 2S6, which uses 30mm guns. Also, with only about 10-15mm of armor on the helium compartments, they will be rather vulnerable to SAMs and AAMs, especially long-range SAMs, as it has a lack of weapons that could take out the launchers at ranges over 100 km.

Welcome to the wonderful world of militarized semirigid airships. They've served us well over time...hopefully they will serve you as well.
Airships in RL can actually be quite "effiecent", the US military use it for recon I believe.

For me, I have a few airships to do recon duties, with countermeasures and armour installed.
OOC:
Omz, I'm on the final stages of updating my strategic transport project (Western Asian- Strategic Transport Development Effort). The damn things are all goin' on sale soon (at the normal spot).
OOC: I'm going to buy your CALCMS/UAVs/ULTRAs/ULAs at once, using the chance Melkor gave me to buy fro your store once :P
Gotta saev money now :wink:

It has cruise missles... can take out shit well over 100km, what do you think the AC-130 can take hits from a 30mm cannon? no... This is not an aircraft designed to take out SAMs its designd to orbit a battle field taking out unarmored vehicles and infantry. My forces use 40mm AA guns in addition to the 20mm, 25mm and 30mm guns. No aircraft is invunreable. This isnt some slow big honking target either, it can move and it can drop a wall of chaff blocking out radar singnals and diverting any SAMs. Also any radar guided sams will most likely hit the fuselage not the helium compartment. and ir guided will go for the engines and be blinded by lasers or fooled by flares.

TJAF officials gaze in horror as another nation stumbles across their closely guarded secret to cheap air transport, laser point defense, and ground assault craft... :shock:

TJAF officials immediately began plans for several new models of every class of combat dirgibles currently in operation.

The USSS is pleased to see another join the ranks of creative military exporters. May this be but the first good idea of many.

Now we must figure out a way to destroy the thing...

IC:

We congtratulate Phoenix Militia for joining the world of "weird and creative military inventions". We are very impressed with your airship.

For us, we are working on a military combat version of the space shuttle.

Infomation Department
Omzian Air Force and Space Corps

The USSS is pleased to see another join the ranks of creative military exporters. May this be but the first good idea of many.

Now we must figure out a way to destroy the thing...
Oh, I can think of a few 8)
Probably won't be easy though.

Heh.. this is hardly the first of my... lets say "unconventional" aproaches to military technology..

The USSS is pleased to see another join the ranks of creative military exporters. May this be but the first good idea of many.

Now we must figure out a way to destroy the thing...I have various "dirty" tricks (not involving WMD) to destroy this :twisted:

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=55022

Forgot about that other thread. I especially like the hand drawings :)

So what in your opinion would be the effect of firing several hundred 75mm shells at this Blimp Of Death?

Killing it is less of an issue than finding it. Thanks to some technology, a massive airship can appear to be little more than a 'light' civilian aircraft...and that's just in RCS and IR.:twisted:

And Visual, well, I have my tricks for that.
:D

OOC: Just noticed that the speed is a bit, well, high for rigid airships.

probly would make a boo boo

][yes i thought of that too, can't u see my sky camo scheme, makes it less of a big target?

Liek WA said, the good thing about airships is --- tehy can be misidentified as civilian "Aircrafts"!

Thats why its got 13 engines. :lol:

well anyways ill be selling them pretty soon

The recoil of all those weapons will destroy and shake that stupid thing to pieces.


*prays for another hindenburg disaster*

idiot.

haha, seems you the idiot with your floating turd

shut up