DARPA’s Transformer TX project has a simple goal: eliminate virtually every problem with both helicopters and ground vehicles in one fell swoop. Ground vehicles can be loaded up with heavy armor and bull through all sorts of abuse from enemy combatants, but they can be rendered useless by as little as a three-foot gap in a bridge, or a well-built road block. On the other hand, helicopters are versatile and quick, able to get virtually anywhere on a battlefield, but they’re extremely vulnerable to enemy fire — and when they go down their passengers have slim chances for survival. But what if you had a vehicle that combined all the quickness and versatility of a helicopter with the safety of an armored ground vehicle? Well, then you’d have the Transformer TX.

At least, that’s what DARPA and its partners at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works are hoping. At last week’s Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) trade show, the pair showed off some new concept art for the project. After more than three years in the pipe, the team has finally reached Phase 3 of the development process, meaning that it is preparing the begin working on the first actual prototype. The concept brings together technology from several bleeding-edge fields, from autonomous drone tech to the latest in ducted fan technology. What began as just another quest to build a flying car has become more ambitious and more practical all at once.

One of the main features that gives the TX a shot at being significantly less fragile than traditional helicopters is the use of tilting ducted fans as opposed to rotors. These have been staples of science fiction for decades, but in real life haven’t found much success outside of low-speed jobs like blimps and hovercraft. However, Lockheed already uses ducted fans for some of its vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) jets, notably the F-35. Even these jets eventually switch to jet propulsion, though, to increase fuel efficiency and top speed. It’s not currently clear how Lockheed hopes to overcome these historical problems, but perhaps the answer is that it simply doesn’t. The TX is projected to have a 250-mile range on a single tank — that’s less than half the range of a conventional helicopter transport like the Sea Knight.

Still, as mentioned, the fans have advantages. Foremost among these is that they are much smaller than helicopter rotors, making them safer and more landable than traditional helicopters. When you can’t clear a huge area for touchdown, (like, say, in the middle of a war-torn city street) the TX might be your go-to insertion vehicle. They also have greater stability in the air, protect their fan blades with the exterior ring, and are less prone to the sort out-of-control spinning descents so often seen in military action movies. With its focus on shorter distances, armor plating the TX will be an easier proposition than for a helicopter, which loses precious range with every kilogram added to the design.

The TX will also be modular in design. Where the original idea was a four-passenger flying Humvee, now the goal is a more general transport technology that can be fitted to a wide variety of payloads. Whether you’re looking to transport a tin full of marines, crates of supplies, or (yes) even a Humvee, the Transformer TX is designed to provide for your needs. When doing large-scale movements, taking multiple trips back and forth between two spots, it makes sense to be able to make your return trip with only a fraction of the weight — carry a container from A to B, drop it off, then return unfettered to pick up the next one.

Probably the most surprising thing about the TX, though, is its focus on autonomous flight. Remote control will be possible, but it will also have the ability to direct itself when needed. Details on this feature are scarce, but having the ability to put the “pilot” in the center of the vehicle rather than behind a flimsy piece of bullet-proof glass could remove the vulnerability of a cockpit and free up the design to be less necessarily forward-facing.

The final prototype may not exceed 8.5 feet wide and 30 feet long, since one of its primary requirements is that it be narrow enough to drive down a single-lane road (assuming its payload has wheels). Lockheed hopes to have a one-third-scale model operating in wind tunnels by the end of the year. It hopes to have a fully working prototype by 2015.

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