Futuristic land/watercraft technology tested at MacDill

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Juanika Glover
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MACDILL AFB, Fla. --  In the movie "The World is not Enough", James Bond went after the bad guys in a vehicle called the Q Boat which was equipped with a GPS tracking system, rocket propulsion and heat-seeking torpedoes. It was capable of driving on land as quickly and easily as it did on water. 

Every now and then, the real world sees one of these imaginary devices come to life. That was evident when United States Special Operations Command invited members of Gibbs Technology and Lockheed Martin to bring their new land to water vehicles to MacDill to demonstrate the vehicle's abilities in hopes of getting the military's perspective on how they could be used to assist in military missions.

In 1996, a company called Gibbs Technology began creating vehicles similar to the ones James Bond used. These vehicles, called high speed amphibians, are capable of traveling from land to water within seconds. 

Gibbs Technology partnered with Lockheed Martin to militarize three of it's vehicles for the armed forces. 

"We came (to MacDill) to showcase our vehicles and prove that the technology is real," said Scott Rudder, Lockheed Martin Corporations manager of business development. 

"In typical operations, whatever vehicle you are using must be stopped when you approach the water line, but with an (amphibian), you don't do that," Mr. Rudder said.

 "If you're a patrolman and you're on the water and the bad guy is on land, you can go after them and transcend that barrier." 

Currently Gibbs Technology has three amphibian variants, Mr. Rudder said. Those vehicles include the Terraquad, the Amphibious Combat Craft/Expeditionary and the Amphibious Combat Craft Riverine. 

The Terraquad is a 16, foot, two-person amphibious craft designed for harbor and coastal patrol operations. The ACC/E is more than 20 feet long, carries up to eight personnel at 40 mph on water and 80 mph on land respectively. 

The third vehicle, the ACC/R, is 35 feel long and has the ability to carry up to 20 people at 40 mph on water and 70 mph on land. 

All three of the vehicles are capable of leaving land and entering the water using hydro-pneumatic self leveling, with ride height adjustment for water travel. 

The ACC/E and ACC/R have power steering and hydraulically operated, power assisted breaks, while the Terraquad has handle bars for steering and hydraulically operated
discs in the brake system. 

None of the vehicles currently contain any military specific aspects. 

"For now, our main focus is on the consumer market, because it's the biggest
market, but there's an obvious military market" said Neil Jenkins, Gibbs Technology Chief Executive Officer and President." 

"Currently our military members are using amphibious vehicles that are no better now than they were 60 years ago during World War II," he said. "Most of those vehicles only go about 7 knots. If you're a good Olympic swimmer you'd probably be able to overtake an amphibian. But what we have now is a whole new technology." 

During the demonstration, some members of MacDill were able to get hands-on, experience on what it's like to be in one of the amphibious assault vehicles. 

When asked what that experience was like, Lt. Col. Mark Larsen of United States Central Command's Science and Technology Office said, "I really didn't know what to expect. It's an interesting transition from land to water and back again. But it seems like a very easy technology to master. I think anyone who can drive a car could handle one of these vehicles." 

He said the vehicle was very maneuverable on the water, but to expect to get a little wet when going full speed. 

"The obvious advantage with an amphibious vehicle is you don't have the restrictions if you're a land-based combatant with running into a water hazard that you can't cross or get around, since the vehicle has such a quick transition," Colonel Larsen said. 

According to Mr. Jenkins, the vehicle detects water and when it decides its safe enough, it starts the transition from a car to a boat, retracting the wheels into the body of the vehicles and change the road lights to marine navigation lights. The vehicle does all of this in about 5 seconds. 

Although Gibbs Technology has given no specific time table for when military members will get to make land to water pursuits like James Bond, the technology leaped from the land of imagination and is ready to be used when the military is ready for it.