Concept to Description for US Darpa Liberty Lifter Program
Aurora Flight Science
It’s not a boat. This is not an aircraft. It’s a flight, se-skimming craft called by an ecrusophone.
These large vehicles reminding Soviet technology from the Cold War gets comeback while China and US develops modern versions for a possible contract with the Pacific military.
The giant sea skimmers resembled the large plane but “more similar to high-speed naval ships they ‘fly’ some meters above the ocean”, as Malcolm Davis in the iustrian strategic policy of the Institute. Such vehicles take advantage of an event called “Wing-in-ground” effectwhere a pillow air between the low flying vehicle and water below can support the vehicle and reduce aerodynamic drag.
Such sea skimmers are typically faster than ships – with speeds compared to the plane – while also avoiding the air in the air, Davis said. They can be encouraged and easily deliver the cargo or troops to a long distance to the Sea of the Cofific Refics Anti-Shar Missile Anti-Ship attacks, he said.
The technology was first obtained during the Cold War, if the Soviet Union experimented with its ekhanoplan design, including a prototype called “Capsian Sea Monster”. But they were not fully removed for lack of funds and limited usefulness for Soviet military planners, said Davis. The current revistion of ocean skimmers comes as China uses the increasing military power to keep Taiwan’s territorial and South China Sea and Sea Staints in the upper sign.
China begins to develop prototypes skimmer skimmer starting in early 2000s, as Ben Lewisan independent defense analyst in Washington DC. More recently, on June 2025, picture emerged from Chinese social media showing a large water vehicle with four jet engine inserted over the wings, first reported to the analyst Hi Sutton’s Naval News. China also recruited Russian technology specialists who had previously employed in the Ekranoplan of Soviet Union, according to the Russian intelligence documents obtained by New York Times.
US Defense US Ave Advenced Research (DARPA) funded the development of similar Seaplane by Liberty Lifter Program from 2022. But the program ends June 2025 without building a successful craft. However, the agency plans to encourage private companies and wider US military to obtain the work with lessons learned from Liberty Lifter Program.
Separately, the US Company Company Crafts also tried it All-Electric Seaglider version of such technology for commercial use, gaining interest from the US Marine Corps.
Such sea skimmers “can prove cheap and reasonable alternatives of more expensive traditional aircraft” as technology and methods of making and making Brendan Mulveney In the US Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute in Alabama. However, he warned, “they could not be back in any strength, and almost unable to survive the modern fight”. Such sea skimmers can also deal with difficulties operating in rough conditions, which are not usually in Taiwan Strait and other east asia, as Lewis.
However marine skimmers can be a part of a wider China’s military strategy to deal with us and have allied sea forces to be deployed in Taiwan support, as Davis. The US responded by raising military cooperation with regional ancestors, such as South Korea, Japan and Philippines, while trying to strengthen military military territories. The possibility of conflict for both sides “raises the need for exploring many novel capabilities” which can give a “extra edge”, as Lewis said.
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