LEMV has been Deflated

InsideDefense.com reported back in June that LEMV has been deflated and is planed to be sold as scrap. The plan for HAV to buy the ship back apparently fell through.

"...when the Army in April offered to sell the hybrid airship back to HAV for $44 million -- a price calculated from federal acquisition regulations requiring renumeration for material costs -- the sum was more than the company could immediately muster, HAV business development director Hardy Giesler told InsideDefense.com.

     HAV countered by proposing a down payment of more than $10 million, followed by installment payments. That offer, however, was deemed [sic] "high risk" and "unacceptable to the government," according to John Cummings, spokesman for Army Space and Missile Defense Command, which managed the LEMV acquisition effort."

I'm surprised I missed this article, obviously not good news, especially for HAV, and when we consider that $400,000 worth of helium was probably just dumped into the atmosphere, it just keeps getting worse.

This is however not the end of airships, or a tragic end to the 2ed coming Airship Revolution. The government is still interested in Hybrid Airships for cargo and is making noises that they plan to acquire a few 66 Ton carrying Aeroscrafts for logistics. This is however probably the end of the Government's attempts to build Hybrid Airship ISR platforms, which is probably for the best.