The Disc-Rotor program aims to develop a new type of aircraft capable of transitioning from hovering like a helicopter to flying like a plane (artist's impression).
The Future Of War: Far-Out Battle Tech -- CNN
DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, funds some of the world's most far out, forward-thinking research into new military technology.
Something like Q Branch in the James Bond movies, DARPA is constantly working on what it describes as "radical innovations." But where James Bond has the character Q to build his exploding pens, DARPA often funds private companies and external organizations to develop its high-tech hardware.
It is currently funding research into, among other things, a robot ostrich, a flying car and a plane that could stay airborne for five years at a time.
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