The U.S. military needs a flying car

Barely a month after the U.S. Aviation Administration approved the first flying car, there was also news of a Department of Defense aircraft tender.
Pentagon officials envision flying versions of the legendary Humvee SUV (which, contrary to popular belief, is not a brand name, but an abbreviation for the vehicle category itself: High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle).

According to the US military, a flying car can do a tremendous service in the army, for example by flying over mined or impassable road sections, but it is also suitable for reconnaissance or evacuation, fast, effective strikes, transporting wounded or smaller commandos, and logistics tasks. The expected requirements for the vehicle in the Transformers project tender are four-person payload, vertical take-off and landing capability similar to helicopters, and 250 nautical miles (463 kilometers) from a refueling. In addition, of course, the flying car must be heavily armored and must also withstand a serious arsenal of on-board weapons.

For the time being, the Textron military technology giant seems to have a chance, but they also say that the flying combat SUV will not be deployed by the army in the near future. In their plans, they sketched a vehicle that is still unnamed, reminiscent in its land form of today’s armored troop carriers, only distinguished from them by a huge propeller at the rear of the car. By opening the wings and rotor built into the roof of the body, the vehicle can be ready for flight in minutes. The rotor provides the buoyancy only when taking off, otherwise with the wings and the rear propeller, the aircraft flies and navigates following the flight principle of the aircraft.

Incidentally, several parts of the flying off-road vehicle are planned to be supplied by Terrafugia, a manufacturer of the recently licensed civilian aircraft.