Defense Technology International – It’s an Airplane. It’s a Submarine. It’s Possible?

DARPA is seeking concepts for an aircraft that can clandestinely insert and extract an eight-person special-forces team. The mission is to take off from a runway, fly 1,000nm as a conventional aircraft, fly another 100nm close to the surface, then travel the final 12nm to the coast underwater. Transit should take less than 8 hours, including any time required to land on water and reconfigure from aircraft to submarine – and the vehicle should be able to loiter near the coastline – on or under the surface – for three days in sea state 5. Then return the same way…