29.07.2025
From the Arctic, to areas destroyed by natural disasters or conflict, contested environments and austere locations pose a serious challenge to military logistics and supply chains. Moving people, equipment, and supplies through these areas is no longer straightforward; access is threatened by conflict, political instability, extreme climate, and degraded infrastructure. Routes are unreliable, threats are active, and traditional assumptions about security and availability no longer apply. Meeting these challenges requires adaptive, forward-thinking logistics solutions.
Current operational challenges
Modern forces remain heavily dependent on fixed-site distribution nodes and on supply chains built for efficiency rather than resilience. These vulnerabilities are magnified by capable adversaries who can persistently and accurately target troops and their support activities, making sustainment of distributed forces increasingly difficult.
The U.S. Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 recognises these gaps, calling for a reduction in reliance on static infrastructure and an increase in the development of logistics systems capable of assured sustainment in contested environments. With vast distances in areas like the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) and austere conditions in the Arctic, traditional approaches are no longer sufficient. Future logistics must provide flexible, on-demand solutions that operate independently of prepared bases and deliver critical supplies where and when they’re needed most.
New solutions for persistent problems
As part of our collaboration with the Office of Energy Conservation Innovation Fund (OECIF), we have been exploring the future applications of hybrid aircraft, like Airlander. The US Department of Defense has a requirement for affordable, reliable, and efficient mobility assets capable of carrying heavy cargo for long distances and operating outside of transportation infrastructure. This assessment involved analysing four key logistics missions: Intra-theatre support, Transitional resupply, Autonomous resupply, and Rapid Airfield Damage Repair (RADR).
Airlander provides independence from fixed infrastructure, operating from any relatively flat surface, including water and ice, while delivering heavy payloads such as equipment, personnel, and ISO containers. Its hybrid lift design combines helium buoyancy with aerodynamic lift and vectored thrust, offering greater control and payload capacity than legacy airships. Despite its size, Airlander exerts minimal ground pressure, making it ideal for austere and remote locations. With the ability to remain airborne for up to five days, it delivers persistent operational support in even the most challenging environments.
It has been found that these features would provide the forces with increased capabilities and multiple options for assured sustainment in contested environments and austere locations. Its ability to operate away from fixed infrastructure for necessary resupply and support accelerates the movement, and increases the endurance of, military support. Airlander’s unique capabilities would also mitigate threat by creating unpredictable supply routes and increasing resiliency.
Airlander’s unique capabilities provide a promising solution to enhance efficiency and resilience for the future of logistics in contested zones.