US military plans maiden flight of football-field-size airship next week

The U.S. military is preparing for the maiden flight of a football-field-size airship laden with surveillance gear designed to do the work of a dozen drones ― and destined for Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The experimental craft is known as the Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV).

The unmanned airship is designed to loiter over combat zones for weeks at a time, outfitted with high-tech sensors that can intercept phone calls, shoot full-motion video or track the movement of insurgents, WSJ said.

With the first flight, the Pentagon may also lift the veil on a project that has been shrouded in secrecy, the newspaper said.

The maiden flight will be conducted next week at the earliest at an air base in New Jersey, reports said.