The LISA Akoya is a French amphibious aircraft capable of landing on land, water or snow without adaptation. It has permanent hydrofoils attached to its bottom called ‘Seafoils’. Though designed for the water, the ‘Seafoils’ shaped like wings produce almost no drag during flight. The motion of the aerodynamic fuselage is not constrained by any equipment or “hydro” shape. The aircraft’s performance is therefore considerably improved, both in terms of speed and range.
This plane shows the possibilities of hydrofoil on aircrafts. Either permanent or retractable like a landing gear, hydrofoils allow a plane to take off and land on water with minimal design change to its aerodynamics. Combined with the vertical turbofan engine I proposed earlier, an amphibious military plane can be built with air intake on its top. The ability to utilize water as a runway opens up new possibilities.
The airfields where a military plane can take off and land are permanent structures with well-known coordinates. This makes them easy targets for the enemy during disputes. On the other hand, an amphibious plane can land on water with a shorter distance. As a result, a piece of straight waterway would be a potential runway. Straight riverbeds, lakes and shores become potential mobile airfields. This flexibility complicates the enemy to suppress the air superiority of the defending country.
One final advantage of amphibious planes is that they allow a new generation of navy carriers. I will explain it further on my next article.
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