Scientists develop unmanned amphibious aircraft

SHANGHAI — Chinese scientists have developed an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle that can take off and dive underwater.

Named Nezha, after a beloved Chinese mythological figure, the aircraft design features fixed wings on either side of the fuselage and rotors on the top. The rotor arms can be folded after the aircraft dives into the water and unfolded when it resurfaces.

The aircraft was built by researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University after a five-year study, the results of which were recently published in the international journal Ocean Engineering.

The design integrates the concepts of underwater glider and unmanned aerial vehicle, enabling it to fly, hover in the air, land on the water and dive below the surface, says co-author Zeng Zheng, an associate researcher at the university’s School of Oceanology.

“Conventional wisdom has it that no aircraft can make a flight and a dive simultaneously. We invented Nezha to break such a stereotype, allowing it to travel freely through air and water,” Zeng says.

According to the researchers, the patented aircraft can work at a submerged depth of 50 meters and it has a maximum load capacity of 5 kilograms. It was tested last year in Qiandao Lake, in East China’s Zhejiang province, and it will undergo sea trials this year in the South China Sea. Experts suggest that Nezha could be deployed in maritime search and rescue missions, as well as used in marine science and engineering.