Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Daily News
October 24, 2008
Pg. 28
By Barry Keevins and Corky Siemaszko, Daily News Writers
THE U.S. MILITARY is seeking designs for a new weapon that could be in a James Bond movie — a flying submarine.
While Bond drove a Lotus that turned into a sub when it hit the water in“The Spy Who Loved Me,” what the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, wants is far more ambitious.
Its specs call for a submersible flying machine capable of carrying eight men and their equipment a combination of 1,150 miles by air, 115 miles by sea, or 22 miles underwater — in less than eight hours.
It must have the “stealth of a submarine” and be able to hide beneath the water’s surface for up to three days to pick up the men after their “coastal insertion” mission is completed.
“We are open to submissions from anywhere,” DARPA spokeswoman Jan Walker said. “DARPA has a budget of $3 billion.”
Previous attempts to come up with such a craft failed because “the design requirements for a submersible and an aircraft are diametrically opposed,” according to the specs.
The Soviets tried to come up with one during World War II. And in the 1960s, the Navy doled out thousands to weapons contractors to come up with new flying sub designs.
Flying subs were featured on the TV series, “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.”
October 24, 2008
Pg. 28
By Barry Keevins and Corky Siemaszko, Daily News Writers
THE U.S. MILITARY is seeking designs for a new weapon that could be in a James Bond movie — a flying submarine.
While Bond drove a Lotus that turned into a sub when it hit the water in“The Spy Who Loved Me,” what the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, wants is far more ambitious.
Its specs call for a submersible flying machine capable of carrying eight men and their equipment a combination of 1,150 miles by air, 115 miles by sea, or 22 miles underwater — in less than eight hours.
It must have the “stealth of a submarine” and be able to hide beneath the water’s surface for up to three days to pick up the men after their “coastal insertion” mission is completed.
“We are open to submissions from anywhere,” DARPA spokeswoman Jan Walker said. “DARPA has a budget of $3 billion.”
Previous attempts to come up with such a craft failed because “the design requirements for a submersible and an aircraft are diametrically opposed,” according to the specs.
The Soviets tried to come up with one during World War II. And in the 1960s, the Navy doled out thousands to weapons contractors to come up with new flying sub designs.
Flying subs were featured on the TV series, “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.”