Red Zeppelin

Vladimir Putin is set to kit out the Russian military with a top-secret spaceship-like aircraft that promises to be 'lighter than air'.

Work is already underway on the hi-tech 130-metre-long Atlant, which will be created merging the technology from planes, hovercraft and airships.

Capable of taking off and landing without a runway it will be able to carry 200 military personnel or as much as 60 tonnes of cargo at speeds of up to 86mph.

There will also be a smaller, swifter version that can carry up to 16 tonnes at 105mph.

The futuristic craft is equipped with sophisticated high-precision computer technology, with Russian officials saying the $15million aircraft will be used by the Defence Ministry.

No further details on how it will be put into service have been released, but the company behind the 21st century blimp, Augur RosAeroSystems, has announced Putin's new toy will be ready for use by the army as early as 2018, reported The Siberian Times.

Mikhail Talesnikov, the vice-president of the firm, said all development work in the first phase of the project would be completed by December. Further work will then be undertaken by the technical team before test flights with a prototype begin.

He added that it would not use the same kind of ballast controls used by traditional airships, such as those dating back to the days of the ill-fated Hindenburg.

Designers say it will 'combine the best properties of an airship, plane, helicopter and hovercraft' but give no further details on how this hybrid will be created.

It is also being created to withstand outside temperatures of -40 Celsius, which are typical in the midst of Russian winters.

There is speculation the Russian military aims to use the blimp at border points, such as to control drug trafficking.

However, it can also be used to move mass numbers of personnel around the country, or into combat zones, more efficiently.