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 to develop contrasting designs for the Liberty Lifter, a large ground-effect transport seaplane intended to carry troops and heavy equipment over long distances.
The General Atomics team will pursue a twin-hull, mid-wing design with 12 turboshaft engines, while the Aurora Flight Sciences (Boeing unit) team will develop a single-hull, high-wing flying boat concept with 8 turboprop engines.
The Liberty Lifter aims to function like a ship for loading and unloading, deliver cargo similar to a C-17 Globemaster III, and primarily fly in ground effect, with a demonstrator aircraft planned to fly within about five years.
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
