Click here - to select or create a menu

Naval News

Palfinger
  • News
  • Event News
    • Indo Pacific 2022
    • Sea Air Space 2022
    • DIMDEX 2022
    • WDS 2022
    • DSEI 2021
    • MADEX 2021
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home» News»Video: DARPA Unveils Liberty Lifter Seaplane Concept

Video: DARPA Unveils Liberty Lifter Seaplane Concept

DARPA has launched the Liberty Lifter project to demonstrate a leap in operational logistics capabilities by designing, building, and flying a long-range, low-cost X-plane capable of seaborne strategic and tactical lift.

Naval News Staff 19 May 2022

Large seaplane concept envisions extended operations, affordable production, advanced controls

DARPA press release

Liberty Lifter seaplane

The new vehicle concept seeks to expand upon existing cargo aircraft by proving revolutionary heavy air lift abilities from the sea.

The envisioned plane will combine fast and flexible strategic lift of very large, heavy loads with the ability to take off/land in water. Its structure will enable both highly controlled flight close to turbulent water surfaces and sustained flight at mid-altitudes. In addition, the plane will be built with a low-cost design and construction philosophy.

Although current sealift is very efficient in transporting large amounts of payload, it is vulnerable to threats, requires functional ports, and results in long transit times. Traditional airlift is much faster, but has limited ability to support maritime operations. Additionally, today, such aircraft suffer payload limitations or require long runways.

There is a history of attempting to develop aircraft created to fly with “wing-in-ground effect,” which means the aircraft is flying no more than the length of its wingspan above ground or water. The most well-known examples are the Soviet “ekranoplans.” These vehicles were high speed and runway- independent, but were restricted to calm waters and had limited maneuverability.

Liberty Lifter
DARPA image

“This first phase of the Liberty Lifter program will define the unique seaplane’s range, payloads, and other parameters. Innovative advances envisioned by this new DARPA program will showcase an X-plane demonstrator that offers warfighters new capabilities during extended maritime operations.”


Alexander Walan, program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office.

To address the shortcomings of existing vehicles and operational concepts, the Liberty Lifter program focuses on addressing three main challenges.

Extended Maritime Operations: Emphasis will be placed on operating in turbulent sea states by creating high-lift abilities at low speeds to reduce wave impact load during takeoff/landing, and innovative design solutions to absorb wave forces. In addition, the project will address risks of vehicle collision during high-speed operation in congested environments. Finally, the aim is for the vehicle to operate at sea for weeks at a time without land-based maintenance activities.

Full-Scale Affordable Production: Construction will prioritize low-cost, easy-to-fabricate designs over exquisite, low-weight concepts. Materials should be more affordable than those in traditional aircraft manufacturing and available to be purchased in large quantities.

Complex Flight and Sea Surface Controls: Advanced sensors and control schemes will be developed to avoid large waves and to handle aero/hydro-dynamic interactions during takeoff/landing.

DARPA Liberty Lifter Sea Plane 2022-05-19
Tags DARPA Liberty Lifter Sea Plane
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More

Related Articles

DARPA Responds on “Liberty Lifter” Seaplane

DARPA Responds on “Liberty Lifter” Seaplane

Peter Ong 16 Jun 2022
The U.S.’s Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) is seeking an experimental “X-Plane” approach to create a new Wing-in-Ground (WIG) Effect seaplane...
USSOCOM’s Amphibious MC-130J Seaplane Concept Alive or Dead? DARPA’s WIG is Alive!

USSOCOM’s Amphibious MC-130J Seaplane Concept Alive or Dead? DARPA’s WIG is Alive!

Peter Ong 18 May 2022
In an unsettling time of disinformation and misinformation, tracking down the status of the “Hot ...
DARPA Selects Two Teams to Build, Test Innovative Manta Ray UUV

DARPA Selects Two Teams to Build, Test Innovative Manta Ray UUV

Naval News Staff 20 Dec 2021
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Phase 2 contracts for the Manta Ray unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) program to Northrop Grumman and Martin Defense Group.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal / Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 Naval News
All Rights Reserved