It sounds like a Hollywood concept, but DARPA wants to make the submersible aircraft a reality -- and they need your help. This week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency put out a request for designs: they want a vehicle with a 2,000-pound capacity that can cover an area of about 1,000 nautical miles, fly that distance in just eight hours, and -- by the way -- fly both above and below water.
NOW they want this. I designed an aircraft with these same capabilities in 1974! It was internally stabilized, jet powered, handle about 4500 lbs of payload, and had vertical take-off and landing capabilities. To top the package off it included easy-to-use controls and computer-aided navigation powered from a TRS-80. With newer technology now out it would be even easier to build. Anyone interested in the design concepts can contact me.
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