2009 July 3

The Armed Forces Day was celebrated on 3rd June in León. For this occasion, the Ministry of Defence authorised the presentation of the SANCHO Programme prototype airship, which was exhibited at the end of the air display.

With its 300 m3 of helium, the 22 m long airship appeared over the trees and buildings some 400 m from the main tribune, to the great appreciation of the crowd in the northern area. Also, the onboard camera installed for the occasion provided real-time images on the static display in the surrounding area, where visitors could obtain full information about the Programme.

The SANCHO Programme is aiming to develop medium to high altitude airships, as a complement to other observation systems - such as satellites - by offering new surveillance services to monitor forest fires and for security applications.