An Israeli start-up is the latest to join the race to bring to market a next-generation airship, joining the likes of the UK’s Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) in a nascent sector that has seen more failed efforts than successes in the 83 years since the Hindenburg disaster.

Atlas LTA plans to offer a family of three hybrid airships ranging from the Atlant 30, a 99m-(325ft-) long design, capable of carrying 18, 000kg (39, 700lb), to the 198m-long Atlant 300, which comes with a 165, 000kg payload. In between comes the Atlant 100. The company hopes to have the first variant, the Atlant 30, on the market in “four to five years”.