"After three years of being laughed out of meetings, the U.S.
Marine Corps' futuristic plans to deploy through space may finally
be getting some traction," notes Aviation Week's spunky new
spin-off, Defense Technology International.
Although the chuckle factor hasn't altogether disappeared, the Air
Force Research Laboratory and Darpa are beginning a study of
options for a reusable upper-stage space travel vehicle -- the same
kind of technology that the Marines might need for a ride halfway
across the globe.
The effort is called "Hot Eagle," and it could be the first step
forward in the Marine Corps' hopes for space travel. Within minutes
of bursting into the atmosphere beyond the speed of sound -- and
dispatching that ominous sonic boom -- a small squad of Marines
could be on the ground and ready to take care of business within 2
hours. [One presentation muses that the capsule might later be
picked up by a Osprey or by a "balloon cable and C-17" transport
plane. Or, the Marines might "hike out," and "leave [the] crew
capsule behind." -- ed.]
The Marine Corps calls the concept the Small Unit Space Transport
and Insertion Capability (Sustain). This plan, a growing group of
Marine supporters say, is the natural evolution of the service's
proclivity for expeditionary warfare that began decades ago with
amphibious landings...
The concept is to deliver strategic equipment or a small squad of
soldiers to any point on the globe -- even the most hard-to-reach
location -- within hours of need. Once on the ground, those
soldiers can carry out strategically critical missions like
reconnaissance or destroying a specific target.
At least, that's their pitch.
