It's called the JHL-40 but it doesn't have anything to do with the US Army's Joint Heavy Lift requirement. That does not mean the hybrid airship/helicopter heavylifter Boeing is designing for SkyHook International has no military potential. Boeing thinks the JHL-40, designed to lift 80,000 lb over 200 miles, could be used for ship-to-shore transport well away from the front lines.

Photo: Boeing

For now the 302 ft-long JHL-40 is being designed for commercial use carrying heavy equipment and other large loads for the energy, forestry, minining and construction industries. Calgary-based SkyHook is paying Boeing to design and build the aircraft and plans to be the only customer, operating the vehicles itself and selling heavylift services to customers. The initial A-model JHL-40 is being designed for use in the Canadian Arctic and Alaska.

Photo: Piasecki Aircraft

It's not a new idea. Piasecki flew the PA-97 Helistat in 1986. This combined a 343 ft-long Navy aerostat with four Sikorsky H-34 helicopters. Boeing says the PA-97 was brought down by ground resonance, something it can avoid using the latest computational tools. The JHL-40 is also neutrally buoyant, the helium envelope carrying the empty weight of the vehicle and allowing all the rotor thrust to be used to lift payload. Thrusters, instead of the rotors, are used to maneuver the fly-by-wire aircraft.

There is a lot of interest in airships within the military these days, mainly for persistent surveillance, but if the JHL-40 is built, its potential for military airlift in low-threat environments could warrant a closer look.