DARPA released today (19/05) a curious airplane project that it is developing. With a double fuselage and multiple engines, the “Liberty Lifter” concept can combine advantages of a seaplane and fuel economy.
The goal with the concept is to create a plane suitable for operations on water, however, with low cost and long range, capable of making intercontinental flights. The two fuselages increase the plane's cargo capacity without adding to the plane's length.
See in video below:
“While current shipping is very efficient at transporting large amounts of payload, it is vulnerable to threats, requires functioning ports and results in long transit times. Traditional air transport is much faster but has limited capacity to maritime operations. In addition, today these aircraft suffer from payload limitations or require long runways.”, said the DARPA, justifying the investment in this type of concept.
Some readers of the AEROFLAP Portal noticed that the plane is very similar to the ekranoplan manufactured by the Soviet Union (USSR). These vehicles were high-speed and lane-independent, but were restricted to calm water and had limited maneuverability.
The project envisions an airplane that will allow for both a highly controlled flight close to rough water surfaces and a flight at medium altitudes. In addition, the concern is to build an airplane with a low-cost design and construction philosophy.
Advanced sensors and control schemes will be developed to avoid large waves and deal with aerodynamic/hydrodynamic interactions during takeoff/landing.
The DARPA (US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) did not disclose the actual size of the aircraft, nor its load capacity, something that will possibly be possible to know in the future. The focus for now is not the commercial market, but developing something for the military.
“This first phase of the Liberty Lifter program will define the range, payloads and other parameters of the unique seaplane”, said Alexander Wallan , program manager for DARPA's Tactical Technology Office. "Innovative advancements envisioned by this new DARPA program will showcase an airplane demonstrator that offers warfighters new capabilities during extended maritime operations."
