Amphibious air-cushion vehicle with dual-rail cargo system

1. An amphibious air cushion vehicle, comprising:

an air cushion hull configured for travel on water and smooth land;

a deck supported by the hull;

an extended stern ramp that is coupled with the deck and may be level with the deck; and

a dual-rail cargo system having a longitudinally arranged track extending along the deck from an aft end of the deck, the track including (1) guide rails and rollers providing for guided sliding movement of palletized cargo along the track, and (2) locks for locking pallets in position during transport, the track being configured at the aft end for an unloading operation in which the locks are disengaged while the vehicle is moving across a predetermined landing location and the palletized cargo slides along the track and off the aft end onto underlying land as the vehicle is moving forward thereon,

wherein the track at the aft end of the deck includes a stern ramp portion coupled with the extended stern ramp, and

wherein the stern ramp portion (1) includes the guide rails and the rollers and (2) is configured to enable the palletized cargo to slide downwards along the stern ramp portion and off the extended stern ramp in the unloading operation while the vehicle is moving forward, thereby delivering the palletized cargo at the predetermined landing location.

2. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the stern ramp is secured in part by a retention cable supporting an aft end of the stern ramp to limit loading at a point of attachment of the stern ramp to the aft end of the air cushion vehicle.

3. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , further including:

one or more propellers for horizontal thrust; and

one or more gas turbines driving the propellers for horizontal propulsion.

4. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 3 ,

wherein the propellers are variable pitch propellers.

5. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , having a fly-by-wire control system for controlling maneuvering of the vehicle.

6. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the fly-by-wire control system provides for unmanned operation of the air cushion vehicle.

7. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , further including a bow ramp configured to enable wheeled and tracked vehicles to roll on and roll off the air cushion vehicle.

8. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the track is one of a pair of parallel tracks of the dual-rail cargo system, the tracks including respective guide rails, rollers and locks and configured for the unloading operation at the aft end.

9. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 8 , wherein both tracks may extend off the aft end and discharge respective palletized cargo during the unloading operation.

10. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the stern ramp is configured to extend downward from the aft end of the deck across a peripheral air cushion of the air cushion vehicle.

11. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the stern ramp is configured to move between a retracted position and an extended position used for the unloading operation.

12. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a loading area at the bow of the deck, wherein the track is configured for a loading operation in which the palletized cargo in the loading area engages with the guide rails and slides towards the aft end to enable the palletized cargo to be unloaded from the aft end in an order that the palletized cargo was loaded.

13. The amphibious air cushion vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the air cushion hull is configured to switch between an off-cushion mode and an on-cushion mode; and

wherein the extended stern ramp is configured to extend towards the ground from the aft end of the deck past the air cushion hull during the unloading operation while the air cushion hull in the on-cushion mode.