posted on Sep, 3 2004 @ 02:43 PM
There are a lot of different future transport options, the ULA (ultra large airship), the HyperSoar, the Pelican ULTRA, and the GRA (Global Range
Aircraft).
The ULA would be able to carry a 750 ton load
but would be subsonic, yet still much faster then ships (which usually transport the majority of
equipment).
ULA
Then there is the HyperSoar - probably the most advanced concept in study. It would be a Mach 10+ recce/strike aircraft though, with secondary
aplications as a transport/frieghter
HyperSoar
The Pelican ULTRA would be a low flying supertransport the size of a football field in length (100 yards) utilizing ground effect to increase
efficiency.
Pelican ULTRA
The GRA (Global Range Aircraft) Would use a blended wing body to deliver 150,000 LBS of payload 12,000 NM.
GRA
There are a lot more concepts out there, but these are the more exotic ones. Over all, I see the Pelican ULTRA as the next step in transportation
because of this:
The Pelican currently stands as the only identified means by which the US Army can achieve its deployment transformation goals of deploying one
division in five days, or five divisions in 30 days, anywhere in the world. If necessary, he said, the Pelican could carry 17 M-1 main battle tanks on
a single sortie. Commercially, the aircraft's size and efficiency would allow it to carry types of cargo equivalent to those carried by container
ships, at more than 10 times the speed.