Flugboote und Amphibienflugzeuge

[Schneemann]

Und noch eine US-Studie zu diesem Thema...

DARPA Responds On “Liberty Lifter” Seaplane

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 to transport (amphibious) armored vehicles and heavy cargo at flying speeds above the wavetops for naval forces.

Such a WIG seaplane, if built and fielded, would revolutionize transport for the theater Combat Commander in providing Distributed Maritime Operations independent of surface sealift transports and bypass the Ship-to-Shore Connector process currently utilizing hovecrafts, landing crafts, and the future Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) as the Liberty Lifter is meant to land on and take off from water. Naval News reached out to DARPA with questions on this new X-Plane airlift program. [...]

One of the “Liberty Lifter’s” DARPA X-Plane Requirement is to transport two U.S. Marine Corps’ armored Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV), each with a gross weight of 67,500 pounds (30,617 kilograms) or 33.75 tons. This Requirement for the “Liberty Lifter” to carry two ACVs results in a total vehicle cargo weight of around 67.5 tons. This carrying weight is smaller than the initial DARPA WIG cargo plane rating of 100+ tons, but is about the cargo-carrying weight of a C-17 rated at 72.6 tons (160,000 pounds).

Each ACV has a crew of three and can carry thirteen combat-equipped Marines in the rear. Thus, a single Liberty Lifter, could in theory, deposit a Marine platoon almost anywhere on land and at sea as the DARPA Liberty Lifter video shows two ACVs being driven right onto the beach from inside the seaplane’s twin fuselages. With flying speeds (much) greater than the ACV’s swimming speeds and that of U.S. Navy landing craft, the Liberty Lifter should expand the mobility of any amphibious assault in certain uncontested and/or permittable environments. [...]

DARPA intends to design, build, float, and fly a full-scale Liberty Lifter demonstrator.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/202...-seaplane/

Das interessante an diesem Konzept (so verstehe ich es): Es ist ein Zwitter - und zwar aus einem sog. Bodeneffektfahrzeug einerseits (man denke an den sowjetischen Ekranoplan), also für die unmittelbare Anlandung an Küsten geeignet, und zugleich andererseits hat das Konzept die Eigenheiten und Befähigungen inne von einem Flugboot für mittlere Höhen.

Schneemann