I doubt the 'tip of the spear' will consist of fleets of large, slow airships. The strategic value in lighter-than-air craft is in their ability to stay airborn

I doubt the 'tip of the spear' will consist of fleets of large, slow airships. The strategic value in lighter-than-air craft is in their ability to stay airborne for extended periods with relatively little control, and access areas unavailable to traditional aircraft. Of course, these airships will likely not be able to the perform 'combat landings' to the extent the C130s can.