US DARPA seeks to develop 'flying submarine'

Design proposals are being sought by the US Government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a revolutionary craft described as a 'submersible aircraft' or 'flying submarine'. DARPA says the futuristic craft will combine the speed and range of an aircraft, the loiter capabilities of a boat and the stealth characteristics of a submarine.

"We are open to submissions from anywhere," said a DARPA spokesman, "DARPA has a project budget of $3 billion."

The parameters set out for the 'submersible aircraft' require that it should be capable of carrying eight men and their equipment a combination of 1,150 miles by air, 115 miles by sea, or 22 miles underwater, all in less than eight hours.

Proposals will need to outline experiments or computational models that will be used to demonstrate that the major technological limitations can be overcome.