The giant airships which can carry entire buildings hundreds of miles

• Invention could see disaster-relief centres dropped into remote areas

Giant balloons that can carry loads over long distances could one day even transport entire buildings.

Australian firm Skylifter is developing a piloted airship that will carry up to 150 tonnes more than 1,200 miles.

They hope that the vehicles could one day carry rural hospitals and disaster-relief centres to remote areas.

See video of the prototype below

Up and away: An artist's impression of the 500ft Skylifter balloon which would be able to carry heavy loads over hundreds of miles

Steady as she goes: The airship's design means that it is extremely easy to steer, according to the Australian firm behind it

The airship has been designed as a disc rather than a conventional cigar shape, which the developers say makes it easier to steer and carry heavy loads under different wind conditions.

Measuring 500ft across - the size of a football stadium - it will move using propellers which can be adjusted to change direction while the heavy weight of the load hanging underneath keeps the airship steady.

And the payload it carries will be 700 times that of a heavy cargo helicopter.

One small step: A scaled-down prototype of Skylifter, which its developers hope will one day carry a 150-tonne payload to remote areas

High hopes: The firm plans to launch a full-sized prototype, nearly 150ft wide, within the next three years

Skylifter has already produced a prototype called Betty which is just under 10ft across and can carry just over a pound in weight. 

It has also produced a 60ft-wide prototype of the balloon design itself, without an engine.

The firm plans to launch a full-sized prototype, nearly 150ft wide, within the next three years.