This is kinda cool. An Australian company is developing a large balloon that can lift and transport up to 150 tons, which is a lot more than the most powerful helicopters. The saucer-shaped Skylifter would be slower than helicopters and airplanes, but comparable to land vehicles, at a speed of about 50 mph. (Depending, no doubt on winds.)One use envisioned for the Skylifter is to transport disaster relief supplies or even whole hospitals to otherwise inaccessible areas. Their artist's-conception pictures show one with Red Cross logos.
One problem after the Haiti earthquake was that airplanes bringing aid were bottlenecked at the one operating airport. Ground transportation was limited by damaged roads and rubble. With one of these, that wouldn't be an issue.We'd just have to hope there's never an Independence Day scenario. How would we know which flying saucers were the aliens?
