The CargoLifter is an airship currently in development in Germany. If it is ever to be built, it'll be the largest airship ever (larger than the Hindenburg, for example). CargoLifter is also the name of the company developing it.

It will be a semi-rigid airship, that is, a gas-filled hull stabilised by a longitudinal keel and no interior framework. Several thrusters will drive and control it when it carries up to 160 tonnes of heavy cargo around.

The purpose of the CargoLifter will be hauling stuff like generators or transformators which are a pain to transport at the moment, since this requires special vehicles and immense efforts to widen roads, reinforce bridges and such. That's why many of CargoLifter's strategic partners are electrical engineering companies such as Siemens or Alstom.

To house the airships, the world's largest airship hangers have already been built somewhere in the East of Germany.

Judge for yourself whether this baby is yet another reason why German engineering rules.