DARPA Hopes A Plane-Boat Hybrid Can Solve The Pentagon’s Sealift Challenge
A new DARPA solicitation is seeking information about a vehicle class capable of filling the sealift and airlift gaps within the Pentagon's requirements.
By Justin Katz on August 30, 2021 at 1:29 PM
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon’s premiere research agency published a request for information earlier this month eyeing a new class of aircraft capable of utilizing the “wing-in-ground” effect. But analysts tell Breaking Defense the military’s request, on a relatively short turnaround time, will be a difficult for the industrial base to oblige — and worry that the system might not be viable for more than short trips.
“This is a very hard ask,” Mark Montgomery, a retired rear admiral and now a senior fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said of the request for information, which set a one-month turnaround time for industry to respond.
The WIG effect is a well-known aerodynamics principle: by flying at low altitudes just above the water’s surface, the friction of the air against the water helps the plane maintain lift and move efficiently.
https://breakingdefense.com/2021/08/darpa-hopes-a-plane-boat-hybrid-can-the-pentagons-sealift-challenge/
