DPD-5000 Long-range Surveillance Airship

• long-range radiolocation reconnaissance, 
• sea patrol for locating and fighting enemy ships and submarines at a long distance using special equipment, 
• sea and ice survey in the interests of ships steering, 
• locating mine fields and de-mining, 
• rescue operations on the open sea after natural and technical cataclysms when helicopters, seaplanes and ships can not be used, 
• search for submerged objects, 
• ecological survey in different parts of the planet, 
• fight against pollution of water areas, 
• search for and transportation of space crafts and their crews, 
• relaying different kinds of information, 
• seacoast patrol, 
• oversize loads delivery by the use of external suspension. 

The DPD-5000 is a semi-rigid airship. The airship construction includes the main means of ground basing and a mooring complex. The airship envelope has a three-part shape formed by an internal catenary belts system. It is made out of domestic multi-layer fabric on a synthetic basis with a cover on titanium dioxide basis. Presumably, the envelope resource will constitute 2,000 hours with a possibility of subsequent exploitation of it in accordance with the technical condition. The envelope material is translucent for radio waves.

The envelope is divided into three sections by two diaphragms. There is a set of three ballonets in the fore section and three ballonets in the aft. On the front diaphragm there is a shaft for ascent to the top of the envelope. Besides, it is possible to go to the fore and aft set of the ballonets and into the gas volume.

The design rigidity is ensured by a keel girder made out of aviation alloys. To ensure the airship takeoff run and landing roll, a hinged junction of the keel girder sections is designed. The bow airship reinforcement is provided with a petalled mooring point that allows to execute mooring to any kinds of mooring masts. The airship has a bottom attachment fitting to park on a movable mast.

The airship empennage is "X"-shaped an has an auxiliary vertical fin where a rudder propeller is mounted. Each of the four rudder surfaces provides sure control and allows to moor in case of a damage. If all the rudders stop working due to a damage, the airship can moor by means of a rudder engine and main engines thrust vector changes.

The power plant consists of two propulsion diesel engines and a rudder engine. The mounting design permits to change the main engines thrust vector direction. The ring propeller fairings enable to decrease the level of noise. A system of water condensation out of exhaust fumes is applied in the airship design to refill the onboard ballast. It is also planned to transfer a part of the thermal energy into the envelope. At a large distance, the airship  will look like a sunlit cloud.

The rudder engine serves for the airship control in case of malfunction of the rudder surfaces. It allows to control the airship in a hovering mode. The rudder control is hydraulic and carried out from the pilot's control column.

The control system is designed so that an onboard computer can be mounted to facilitate the airship control and increase reliability of the control system. Besides, the computer can be used to process video images received from the TV cameras. One set of the TV cameras is mounted in the top part of the airship envelope and intended for survey of the upper semi-sphere; the other set is in the envelope and serves for location of breaks and punctures in the envelope and for control after the condition of the ballonets; the third set is under the gondola and serves for survey of the lower semi-sphere, spotting and taking photos of different objects, facilitation of the airship landing.

In the gondola, which has a semi-monocoque design and is fastened to the keel girder, there is a cockpit and auxiliary equipment. In the cockpit there are seats for pilots and pilotage equipment. The payload, engine compartment, operators' seats and living accommodation are in the keel girder. In case of emergency it is possible to drop ballast and fuel quickly. Under the cockpit there is a safety cutter also serving as a float to alight on water. The airship landing gear has four legs. Props or small self-orienting wheels can be fitted under the main spars of the bottom stabilizers to protect the bottom planes by takeoff and landing.

• A UHF or L-band radar set. The airship construction permits to arrange antennas with a diameter of up to 30 metres. High thermal conductivity of helium, which is approximately five times higher than that of the air, increases reliability of the electronic components due to their better cooling. It is possible to mount an additional interior hydrogen compartment instead of the radar set. 
• A towed submerging sonar and detachable sonobuoys, 
• Equipment for locating mines and de-mining, 
• A thermal fields survey complex, 
• A system for lifting up people and cargo from a surface onto the board, 
• Auxiliary equipment for transportation of oversize cargo on the external suspension, 
• A device for taking water ballast during a flight, 
• A theodolite complex, which is used for visual control. Photographing is carried out by a wide-angle camera. The bottom airship gondola glazing has an advantage over a helicopter of executing monitoring of objects that are below the gondola at an extremely low altitude. 
• Video-recording system and subsequent computer processing and transmitting pictures. All the received data is stored in the onboard computer and base ground computers. 
• Means for annihilation of located objects. 

Depending on the level of overweight, the airship can execute either vertical or short takeoff and landing. Dynamic takeoff and main engines thrust vector deflection allows the airship to launch with up to 15 per cent overweight.

It is possible to heat the gas by 15 to 30 degrees before a takeoff by the use of ground sources of heat, which will allow to decrease the initial gas volume by 5-10 per cent. Taking water ballast during a flight at a low altitude and condensing water out of exhaust fumes permits to increase the time of autonomous flight.

There are three variants of the airship parking: on a movable or stationary mooring mast, in specially equipped natural shelters, and on the water surface. Operating the airship on a mooring mast, fuelling and ballasting are carried out by feathering it into the wind. A running repair can be carried out by means of airship bracing to the ground fixed anchors or field corkscrews, in the side wind with a velocity of up to 12 metres per second. After getting a storm warning, the airship is transferred to a base dock or specially equipped places of storm parking. A capital repair is made in a base dock.

The airship is towed to a place of launch by a movable mooring complex. In the side winds the airship is held by mechanical winches mounted on a self-propelled chassis. Mooring operations can be carried out in the wind of up to 20 metres per second. The airship can alight on water, park and make an independent takeoff in the wind with a velocity of up to 15 metres per second and up to a force 5 choppiness.

Gas filling is carried out by a stationary gasholder at a base parking, automobile gas refuellers or gas generators.

At the present time the project of the airship DPD 5000 is in the stage of a draft. RosAeroSystems s.r.a. has limited financial resources to develop the project, therefore we invite the companies that are interested in the project to consider financial participation. 

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