Review the Design Specifications

Vaughn spoke next, “Our design specifications indicate that your airship has a cargo lift capacity of just over twenty tons. Is that still accurate?”

“That’s right, Cora.” Ranell leaned forward and smiled, feeling somewhat like a used car salesman. In the short time that GML had been operating the airships, they had encountered several minor bugs and design difficulties, but the cargo capacity numbers were good. He wanted to emphasize that point. “To put that into perspective, imagine each airship as the equivalent of nine Light Medium Tactical Vehicles. Only they can stay aloft for a week at a time and land anywhere without the need for roads or airports.”

Foster nodded approvingly while Ranell was talking but interjected, "Of course, there is the cargo handling aspect, Josef, but Cora’s interest centers primarily around the lift capability as they relate to the sensor suites we’re planning to install."

“We see the LMH-1 as just one component of a much larger integrated array,” Vaughn took the lead. “The array includes land-based, sea-based, and space-based surveillance assets. Currently, our air-based assets include a variety of aircraft, including the Navy’s E-2D carrier-based radar early warning aircraft and our P-3C Orion’s equipped with the Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS).”

“Our main competitor in this market is the Boeing AWACs," Foster added.

Ranell’s brow furrowed. "Could you slow down with the acronyms a bit, please? This is new territory for me."

“Sorry,” Foster held his hands up good-naturedly. “AWACs stands for Airborne Warning and Control System. They’re the jets with the huge radar dome on top?” He tilted his head quizzically to see if Ranell was following.

"Oh, yes, I've seen pictures of those."

“In terms of sheer horsepower, they’re still the leading edge of airborne sensor technology, but they only have about 11 hours endurance before they need to refuel.”

“What’s the range on those AWACs?” Ranell wanted to know.

“About 5,000 miles.”

"Well, our birds can't match that," Ranell admitted. "The LMH-1 has a maximum range of 1,600 miles. However," he didn't want the enthusiastic mood to disappear, "Once in position, you can point the nose of an airship into the wind and go to a 'station-keeping' posture that barely sips fuel. You can literally stay aloft for days at a time. Under the right conditions, up to a week in the sky."