Many wonderful things have come out of the US Military’s defence Advanced Research Projects Agency — or DARPA — incuding the internet. But none are as insanely awesome as its new CAAT (Captive Air Amphibious Transporter) which is essentially a tank that floats on water thanks to its oversized inflatable treads.
Created as part of DARPA’s Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform, the CAAT is designed to ferry supplies from offshore container ships to disaster areas on land. The version of the CAAT seen skimming across the water and swamps in this video is actually a 1/5-scale model built to demonstrate its capabilities. And even though a full-size version will weigh in at over 20t, there’s no risk of it sinking since the weight is evenly distributed across its over-sized pontoon treads. To really sell it, though, DARPA should’ve strongly considered putting a 1/5-scale Cobra Commander at the wheel. [YouTube via Technabob]