The Liberty Lifter is a U.S. military Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project, launched in mid-2022, to develop a low-cost seaplane that uses the ground-effect to travel long distances.
source.image: Found And Explained
The Liberty Lifter program is currently designing and will build, float, and fly an affordable and innovative seaplane that can potentially transform fast logistics missions for the DOD and commerce. Liberty Lifter could also provide sea-based search and rescue and disaster response at the scale of ships with the speed of air transport.
In February 2023, DARPA awarded contracts to two contractors to develop their own plans. Specifications for the craft included the ability to fly less than 100 feet (30 m) from sea level to harness ground effect, and the ability to climb as high as 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above mean sea level. It should have a ferry range of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km), and be able to take off and land in Sea State 4, but sustain on-water operations up to Sea State 5, while meeting the United States Department of Defense heavy lift requirements of carrying 90 tons and having a low-cost design and construction philosophy.
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Such a craft would be similar in size and capacity to the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and be able to carry a load equivalent to two U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicles, or six 20-foot storage containers. Final designs for Phase 1 were expected by mid-2024.
