American Blimp MZ - 3 The MZ - 3A is a blimp owned by the United States Navy since 2006 . It is a modified American Blimp Corporation A - 170 series commercial blimp and given the USN type / model / series ( T / M / S ) designation MZ - 3A and Bureau Number ( BuNo ) 167811 . After delivery to the Navy , the airship began operations as an advanced flying laboratory used to evaluate affordable sensor payloads , the development of new lighter - than - air ( LTA ) technologies and general flight support for other related research and development / science and technology ( R & D / S & T ) projects . In May 2006 , Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Twenty Lighter - than - Air Vehicle ( LTAV ) Detachment ( VX - 20 LTAV Det ) began regular flight operations from the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst located in Lakehurst , New Jersey . In 2007 flight operations were halted and the ship stored in Hangar Six at NAES Lakehurst . In October 2009 , the MZ - 3A was transferred to the United States Naval Research Laboratory Military Support Division ' s Scientific Development Squadron One ( VXS - 1 ) , formerly known as the Flight Support Detachment , located at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River , Maryland . In March 2010 the airship resumed flight operations with test flights at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma , Arizona . The MZ - 3A is a government owned / contractor operated ( GOCO ) aircraft operated by a civilian contractor , Integrated Systems Solutions , Inc . ( ISSI ) of California . ISSI currently maintains and operates the vehicle employing Navy approved , highly qualified , commercial blimp pilots to command the airship . On 5 July 2010 , the MZ - 3A was re - deployed to the Jack Edwards National Airport in Gulf Shores , Alabama to assist in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill recovery operation . At a ribbon - cutting ceremony on 26 October 2011 at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division , NAES Lakehurst , New Jersey , and in recognition of the " Centennial of Naval Aviation " , the Navy unveiled a fresh identity for the MZ - 3A . Emblazoned with red , white and blue striped rudders reminiscent of the Navy ' s airships just prior to World War II , the airship also carries the insignia of the VXS - 1 Warlocks and the banner of the U . S . Navy . The airship is propeller - driven by two Lycoming engines , providing a maximum cruise speed of just under . The manned 178 - foot LTA craft has an operational payload capability of up to and can remain aloft and nearly stationary for more than twelve hours , performing various missions in support of technology development for Command , Control , Communications , Computers , Intelligence , Surveillance and Reconnaissance ( C4ISR ) concepts . February 2012 , four months after its formal acceptance by the Navy , the MZ - 3A airship at Joint Base McGuire - Dix - Lakehurst , New Jersey , it was planned to be deflated and stored , and the program suspended until future missions warrant its re - activation . In March 2012 , days after the decision to suspend , the program got a reprieve for at least another 3 – 6 months of operations . The MZ - 3A was still in operation as of March 2013 , providing C4ISR capabilities demonstrations in Florida for U . S . Naval Forces Southern Command / U . S . 4th Fleet . < br >