The document describes the M1400 airship and its capabilities for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. It can carry over 6,500 lbs of payload including multiple ISR sensors. With a range of over 100,000 square miles, a single M1400 can provide the ISR of multiple current systems and stay aloft for up to 78 hours, at a fraction of the cost. It provides unprecedented persistence and payload capacity for military and civilian missions.

1. M1400 Lighter-Than-Air Aircraft
WORLD’S MOST
AFFORDABLE ISR:
Meeting Today’s ISR
Demand with Innovation,
Integration, and Cost
Effectiveness
4501 FORD AVENUE SUITE 1320 ALEXANDRIA, VA 22302-1463
OFFICE 703.340.1304 FAX 703.379.0677 MAV6.COM

2. M1400 Airship Characteristics

Largest UAV in the world
Maneuvering Engine
Turbine Propulsion
•
Over 100K ft3 of available payload area:
unprecedented mission flexibility
•
Up to 6,500 lb payload weight capacity
•
Eight (8) major independent ISR payloads

Most Bits per Dollar per Day
•
Very low operating cost

Most powerful UAV-based computer in
existence
•
Enables on-board processing
•
Minimizes air-to-ground data

Semi-Automated sensor-to-sensor cueing
Power Car + Diesel
for enhanced threat detection 1,610 ft3
Main Drive Engines
(23 ft x 10 ft x 7 ft)
•
Increases number of payloads that can be
simultaneously deployed and operated Payload Car Volume

Modular payload integration architecture
•
Significantly reduces aircraft-payload
2

3. Blue Devil Block II: On-going USAF program
leveraging the Mav6 M1400 airship for
persistent intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance (ISR) operations.
“…at a 500-nautical mile combat radius, the
Air Force’s BD2 would have a payload-
duration about 60 times greater than the
Predator’s and more than 10 times greater
than the Reaper’s.”
Congressional Budget
Office
3

4. M1400 Operational Concept
Example
Potential Coverage of SW Border
SENSOR COVERAGE
Operating 20,000 ft MSL
Altitude
EO/IR (Wide 110 mi radius (38,000 mi2
Aperture) coverage) @ 0.5m GSD
SAR-MTI Radar > 150 mi radius (> 76,000 mi2
coverage)
SIGINT 200 mi radius (125,000 mi2
coverage)
44

5. M1400 Comprehensive ISR Capability
Hrs
Potential M1400 ISR Sensor Coverage A single M1400 can provide the types
12
Operating of ISR capability of these 7 ISR systems
20,000
Altitude (ft) (SIGINT, COMINT, GMTI, EO/IR, HSI, etc.):
110 mi radius (38,000 mi2 simultaneously;
“Eyes”
coverage) at 3 to 10 times the duration; accomplish 12
200 mi radius (125,000 mi2 the processing on-board; and do it all for a
“Ears”
coverage) fraction of the cost…
32
12
?
80-120 hrs
On-station Vs=
.5
16
5

6. M1400: Value Proposition
SIGNINT + COMINT + GMTI + EO/IR + HSI
D
1 2 a3 4 5
12 hour
A single M1400 can provide the types
endurance
y $42 of ISR capability of these 7 ISR systems (SIGINT,
s
Sorties overlap to maintain Persistent
K/h COMINT, GMTI, EO/IR, HSI, etc.):
r
simultaneously; at 3 to 10 times the duration;
12 hour Surveillance
endurance accomplish the processing on-board;
$4
5k/ and do it all for a fraction of the cost…
hr
32 hour
endurance $3 D
2k/
hr
1 2 3
a 4 5
y
12 hour
endurance $4
2k/
OR $
4k
120 hour
endurance s
hr
/h
12 hour r
endurance $3
6k/
hr
0.5 hour
endurance ?
16 hour
endurance $
4
k/
hr
1
2
# of 9
54
Aircraft
>$27 $0.5
6
Required
for 3
120 Hours for 120 hours of Persistent for 120 hours of Persistent
of Surveillance Surveillance
Continuous Ti the Ti
Coverage m m 6

7. M1400 Modular Payload Integration
7

8. M1400 Payload Options
M1400 can support the simultaneous deployment of a variety of mission payloads—
and integrate all with on-board computers, processing, and mass storage.
Wide-Area EO/IR Synthetic High Powered High Definition
Aperture Radar Full Motion Video
On-board Processing
High Bandwidth Weapons
Data Links Modules Multi-Mode Radar
8

9. M1400 Key Elements
Innovation Integration Cost-Effectiveness

Adapted mature airship 
System-of-Systems Design: 
High payload/
design to achieve rapid Designed as a multi-INT Long endurance
deliverable: Leverages system from the beginning enables greater
traditional hull design with cost-effectiveness:
less complexity and fewer 
Mission-tailorable sensor Equivalent pound/hours of
moving parts than alternatives suite: Allows rapid ISR would require 10s of
reconfiguration in hours to multiples of other remotely

Open Architecture: Sensor variety of sensor or comm piloted aircraft
agnostic payload payloads
infrastructure 
Per flying dollar spent BD2

Moves data processing to delivers more ISR capability

Extensible Ground Segment: point of origin: Meets the per hour than other aircraft
Designed to meet tsunami of data challenge
expeditionary ISR
requirements with local multi-
sensor data management,
correlation, and storage
9

10. M1400 Capabilities: Why it’s Unique
Provides persistence with largest multi-int payload in existence

Wide Area EO/IR with largest aperture EO/IR spot capability

Largest “real estate” for SIGINT antenna arrays on any ISR platform
Rapid tipping & cueing provides actionable ISR to users in seconds

Sharing of event and geolocation data across disparate sensors directly to users

Potential for automated sensor to sensor cuing (e.g. SIGINT to IMINT sensors)

Find, fix, identify, and track HVI/HVT with HD sensing and SIGINT queues
On-board processing = more info to users with less bandwidth

Moves data processing from ground to air reducing sensor-to-shooter latency

Potential as focal point of an ISR constellation integrating multiple platforms
Multi-sensor processing ground station

Multi-sensor C2 and visualization in the field reduces sensor analyst requirements
Mission-tailorable sensor suite—in hours not months/years
10

11. M1400 Value Proposition
To keep 6,000 lbs of ISR equipment on
station for 78 hours it takes:
1 M1400
39 Current Fixed-
Wing UAVs
468,000 lb-hrs ISR ÷ 11,900 lb-hrs ISR = 39.3 MQ-series RPAs per
M1400
OR
468,000 lb-hrs ISR ÷ 11,900 lb-hrs ISR = 39.3 MQ-series RPAs per
M1400
6,000 lbs ISR equipment x 78 hrs = 468,000 850 lbs ISR equipment x 14 hrs = 11,900
lb-hrs lb-hrs
of ISR Mission Capability per aircraft of ISR Mission Capability per aircraft
High payload/Long endurance
enables greater cost-effectiveness
11

12. M1400 Value Proposition
M14 Current
Fixed-
00 Wing UAVs
7 times the ISR
mission
payload
6,000 lbs of ISR
equipment
850 lbs of ISR
equipment
A
T 5- times
the
enduran 78 14
6
ce hrs hrs
F
O
R
75 the cost
per
flight $1,117/ $1,456/
%
hour hr hr
( 6,000 lbs x 78 hrs ÷ $1,117/hr ) ÷ ( 850 lbs x 14 hrs ÷ $1,456/hr ) = 52.375
Per flying dollar spent you get 52 times more ISR per
hour with M1400 than current fixed-wing UAVs
12

13. CBO Payload-Duration Comparison
300,0
00
Payload-Duration (Pound-
250,0
00
200,0
Hours)
00 M14
00
150,0
00
100,0
00
50,0
00 MQ-9
Grey
Reaper
MQ-1
Eagle
5 1,0 1,5 2,0 Predator
0 00 00 00
0 Combat Radius (Nautical
Miles)
Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data provided by 13

14. Blue Devil 2
Progress
5/11/12

15. Example M1400 Mission Potential
 Humanitarian Assistance
 Disaster Relief
 Persistent Presence
 Border Patrol
 Law Enforcement
 Traffic Management
 Crowd Control
 Market Analysis
 Counter-Drug Ops
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