Traditional airships use a cable and pulley system for directional movement, which is finicky at best, and leaves tremendous opportunity for error. When the Skunk Works team began developing the next generation airship – the Hybrid Airship – for remote cargo transport nearly 20 years ago, they pulled knowledge from their Lockheed Martin fixed-wing brethren and built digital flight controls, or a fly-by-wire system, into the airship’s standard systems. An industry first at the time.
For more about Lockheed Martin’s Hybrid Airship click here.
Source: YouTube
Whilst not a UAV (well not fixed wing), think we need to be keeping close eye on the technology competitors – hybrid, fuel cell, and (sooner or later) smaller jet turbines (down to maybe 40 Hp – suit a Shadow and most TUAS….)