A team including Aurora Flight Sciences will develop a more traditional single-hull version of the Liberty Lifter. [Courtesy: DARPA]
Key Takeaways:
DARPA has selected two teams, led by General Atomics and Aurora Flight Sciences (a Boeing unit), to develop competing designs for the Liberty Lifter, a large transport seaplane.
The Liberty Lifter program aims to create an efficient, ground-effect capable aircraft, similar in size to a C-17, for long-distance transport of troops and heavy equipment over water, functioning like a ship for loading but also able to approach beaches.
The General Atomics team is developing a twin-hull, mid-wing design with 12 turboshaft engines, while the Aurora Flight Sciences team is working on a single-hull, high-wing flying boat concept with eight turboprop engines, with designs expected to mature over an 18-month Phase 1.
Development of the Liberty Lifter just got more interesting.
The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) named two teams that will work on different designs for a large transport seaplane to carry troops and heavy equipment for long distances over water using wing-in-ground effect aerodynamics to boost efficiency.
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Jonathan Welsh is Lead Editor of Aviation Consumer and a private pilot who worked as a reporter, editor and columnist with the Wall Street Journal for 21 years, mostly covering the auto industry. His passion for aviation began in childhood with balsa-wood gliders his aunt would buy for him at the corner store. Follow Jonathan on Twitter @JonathanWelsh4
