Re: [ERPS] SoloTrek XFV Closing Doors

[Andrew Case]

It's not clear to me that this is a bad thing. There's certainly a market for this gadget, but it seems to me that it's entirely law enforcement and recreation. The military utility of a device that lands a man (on a hard flat surface, mind you - rough terrain need not apply, nor mud) and makes it impossible to land another in the same spot, all while bringing him in on a noisy, unarmored platform seems iffy. What can this thing do that can't be done better by guys in choppers? There might be niche uses for artillery spotting and target designation in situations where UAVs are for some reason unsuitable, but I'm not convinced based on the website that DARPA should be spending money on this gadget. We had the Flying Pulpit, and that never saw much use: why is this gadget superior? Private investors could most likely make a good deal of money off this thing - I certainly believe there's a market, just not a military one.

OTOH, the dissolution of the company may make some useful things available at well below the new price. The fly by wire system may well include FOGs, for example. ERPS might consider sending somebody to the auction, if there is one, on the off-chance that a critical-path item can be picked up for pennies on the dollar.

......Andrew

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