WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin and a New Zealand company are teaming up on the development of high-speed amphibious cars straight out of a 007 movie.
Lockheed announced Monday it was joining forces with Gibbs Technologies to develop a trio of vehicles for special military operations that can hit speeds of 45 miles per hour on the water and a dizzying 80 mph on land.
Known as High Speed Amphibians (HSAs), the vehicles are based on a prototype civilian design developed by Gibbs that includes an all-terrain vehicle, a four-wheel drive and a "three-person sports car."
"HSAs are high-performance craft on the water, and high-performance vehicles on the ground and the transition between the two is seamless," said Alan Gibbs, chairman of Gibbs Technologies. "These are true amphibians, combining the best of both worlds."
What Gibbs and Lockheed have in mind is militarizing the designs to handle a variety of missions in an amphibious, river or cross-country environment. A primary benefit will be rapidly speeding up the process of getting commandos and their gear ashore and into their infantry mode.
"Until now, our Navy and Special Forces have taken on great risk with sea- to-shore insertions, largely due to a transition period that can last an hour or more in vulnerable areas," said Lockheed Vice President Rich Lockwood. "HSA minimizes that risk, allowing forces to move safer and faster."
The vehicles range in size from 20 to 35 feet in length and have wheels that fold to a 90-degree angle when in the water. They will also be equipped with standard military networking capabilities.
The proposed models include the Amphibious Combat Craft with riverine and expeditionary variants, and the Terraquad," which can cruise at more than 50 miles per hour on land and in the water.
