Q&A · 3:07:11-3:07:55

A flying taxi is not yet a military connector

Military lift demands payload, equipment volume, saltwater durability, and deck capacity far beyond moving a few civilian passengers.

Question

Could civilian electric VTOL or flying-taxi technology become a quiet ship-to-shore troop connector?

Short answer

Possibly, but only after solving saltwater durability, military payload, equipment carriage, cost, and how many aircraft a ship can operate.

Notes

Electric vertical-takeoff taxis might offer useful ideas for moving troops from ships. Any military version would still face cost, saltwater corrosion, payload, and equipment-carriage limits. A vehicle sized for individual passengers performs a much lighter job than a connector carrying armed troops and their stores. The number a ship can embark also matters, which helps explain why military aircraft grow as operational requirements accumulate.