I think the airship you discribed is too easy for enemy to target!

Obviously you would want a secure corridor and LZ for one of these.. blanket an area say 10miles X 10 miles with enough troops, and with Apaches and F-15s and F-22s overhead .. besides, these things are so big and use non-flammable helium and have redundant vectored thrusters so even taking a hit or two is a manageable risk. Punch big hole in them and they settle slowly to the ground and NOT burst into flames ala the Hindenburg. The benefits and advantages are just too compelling in my mind not to seriously consider them and build the prototype as planned.

I'm attaching the following post I came across while researching the WALRUS project. Its obviously from an ex-pilot, someone who's "been there, done that"
and just may address some of the concerns that have been raised.

I am dismayed by the number of naive, puerile and even lunatic comments on this subject. But for those of you that have shown you have more than two functional neurons, my greetings, my compliments and my rant:
A modern army depends on vehicles -- LOTS of vehicles. Humvees, 6x6's, fuel trucks, ambulances, etc. Currently, these are usually flown where needed by such as the C-141, C-17, C-130 and the C-5A, (which requires 14 hours of maintenance for every hour of operation, even when it hasn't been shot at).
And these enormous lumbering hulks are, indeed, shot at and hit. There used to be a Victor Charley in a spider hole at the end of the runway at Ton Son Hut, Republic of Vietnam, who shot at all aircraft coming and going. He was killed and another sniper took his place, who was killed and replaced and so on. Then came the replacement who couldn't shoot straight. He was left alone, and our rescue and maintenance, (and graves registration), people finally got to relax a bit.
And therein lies the key: All these cargo ships had to land and take off from runways! The snipers and sappers covered these runways like wool on a sheep. Blimps can land in any big, flat, empty spot. All the airship would need do is deliver its troops and vehicles in-country -- somewhere... quiet The unit could then use its own vehicles to proceed to its designated area of operations.
Cargo aircraft will always be shot up and shot down. As a former pilot, I can say that I would rather be hit in a heavily compartmentalized lighter-than-air blimp that could be *settled* to the ground rather than crashing into it. I see that as a far more survivable senario than than having my wing shot off, my aircraft disintegrating around me, or just augering in, (there are no ejection seats in cargo planes).
There are ways of rendering RPG's useless (from a distance), though, maddeningly, these methods are not often employed, and I will not discuss them for obvious reasons, though their use has saved countless lives; in paticular during the Yom Kippur War. There are good counter-measures for shoulder-launched SAM's as well. Again, when these are not employed, you see the results on the news.
Along with these techniques, the proper deployment of helicopter gunships would help assure a safe landing and off-loading, just as it can for the other humongous cargo planes.
And if such a blimp could carry 1000 tons, why, that would be the equivalent of over 30 C-130 flights! An entire unit, with humvees, artillery, etc could be deployed shortly after landing. Hours instead of days or weeks.
This is certainly an idea worthy of consideration.

raspa that's exactly the point. It's stupid to say "well it makes a big target" because everything from a C-130 to an AWACS to a fuel tanker ship makes a big target. That's why they call it logistics.

Yeah! BTW, is it possible to make an amour for the airship? IF that is done, it can be used as a forward attack airship! Even played the game RED ALERT 2?

To armour a airship of this size would add tons of weight to it, also from it's size and low speed it can be watched from miles away and if it attempted to land the whole area could shelled and mortared. The tested methods are still best for rapid insertions

The pic you posted, WAd plane is it? C-130?

Originally Posted by LeEnfield

To armour a airship of this size would add tons of weight to it, also from it's size and low speed it can be watched from miles away and if it attempted to land the whole area could shelled and mortared. The tested methods are still best for rapid insertions

I really don't think anyone would use an airship for rapid insertions. We have C-130s, parachutes, and tons of helos for that job.

Where we get bogged down in the American armed forces is taking 80+ ton tanks and getting them to the other side of the world. INTRA-theater logistics, not INTER-theater logistics.

If our enemy can shoot down a transport craft over the atlantic ocean we've got a lot bigger problems than what craft we're using to transport equipment.

Originally Posted by zander_0633

Yeah! BTW, is it possible to make an amour for the airship? IF that is done, it can be used as a forward attack airship! Even played the game RED ALERT 2?

A forward attack airship? Not likely. But adding armor to increase survivability,why not? Airships can afford the extra weight due to their enormous lifting capacities.. designers could, for example, allocate 10% of the 500 ton payload capacity to armor; that's 50 tons of protectiion for engines, crew and other vital components, enough to cope with the RPG and shoulder-fired SAM threats...one could even go far to say that an airship could be designed to be the most survivable of all aircraft

Oh! that is a new saying! But so far, no one has produced such an airship as most people think that they are slow moving objects! Enemy may spot it early and scramble their fighters to shoot it down!