MD Aerospace, a consortium group of aerospace and defense companies has achieved a breakthrough invention to create the world's first submersible VTOL aircraft known as Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Multi Rotor Submersible/Airplane. This aircraft uses an innovative movement control principle called aerodynamic - thrust marginal accurate control (AEROTMAC).
This revolutionary invention is the first in its field. It features an aircraft module with multi-rotors in the form of shrouded-propellers that has the ability to fly and submerse. The vehicle will have the capability to be used manned or unmanned, with or without cargo, and will be able to take off from and land on both ground and water similar to conventional helicopters. The vehicle also has the ability to fly over water and submerse under water, moving and maneuvering until it reaches the shore. The invention solves many problems inherent in the different design criteria for flying and submersing vehicles.
"The invention will have the capability to revolutionize intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in the next decade for coast guard patrols to secure borders against new or upgraded threats in criminal activities such as trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal immigration, and environmental control, ultimately helping to save lives.
Future vehicles will be able to take off and land vertically from land or a warship, fly through the air, skim across water, submerge, travel underwater and maneuver to a coastline where they can loiter off the coast or move onto the coastline. The vehicles will be able to leave the coastline and return to their home destination or a new one in the same way they arrived.
The designer's approach has been recognized as very different from other designer's attempts. The difficulty with developing such an aircraft comes from the diametrically opposed requirements that exist for an airplane and a submarine. While the goal of an aircraft is to minimize weight, a submarine must be extremely heavy to submerge under water. In addition, the flow conditions of the system designed to control a submarine and an airplane are very different due to the order of magnitude difference in the densities of air and water (known as medium).
