Scientists Rediscover Flying Submarines

"O Pusan, with thy golden ships that travel across the ocean, in the air's mid-region, Thou goest on an embassy to Surya ...." -- Rig Veda, 8, 58, 3

"It is there, O thou tiger among men, that I heard that Salwa was coursing on his car of precious metals near the ocean, and I followed in his pursuit. And, O thou slayer of thy foes, having reached the main, Salwa on his car of costly metals was in the midst of the deep heaving with billows!" -- Vasudeva, Mahabharata, Book III: Vana Parva, Section XX, 8th century B.C.

"But as that car of costly metals was in the sky [U.F.O.], full two miles off, it could not, O Bharata, be seen by my troops [cloaking device]. They could therefore only remaining on the field of battle look on like spectators in a place of amusement, cheering me on by shouts loud as the roar of the lion, and also by the sound of their clapping. And the tinted arrows [missiles] shot by the fore-part of hand penetrated into the bodies of the Danavas [extraterrestrial demons] like biting insects. And then arose cries in the car of precious metals from those that were dying of wounds by those sharp arrows and falling into the waters of the mighty ocean. And the Danavas deprived of their arms, necks, and wearing the form of Kavandhas,--fell, sending up tremendous roars. And as they fell they were devoured by animals living in the waters of the ocean." -- Vasudeva, Mahabharata, Book III: Vana Parva, Section XX, 8th century B.C.

"O king, when I had said these words, Indra with a smile said unto me 'Nothing is there in the three worlds that is not in thy power (to achieve). My enemies, those Danavas [extraterrestrial demons], named, Nivata-Kavachas [aquatic extraterrestrials] dwell in the womb of the ocean. And they number thirty million and are notorious, and all of equal forms and strength and splendour. Do thou slay them there, O Kunti's son; and that will be thy preceptor's fee.'" -- Arjuna, Mahabharata, Book III: Vana Parva, Section CLXVII, 8th century B.C.

New Scientist: From sea to sky: Submarines that fly.

GUILLEMOTS and gannets do it. Cormorants and kingfishers do it. Even the tiny insect-eating dipper does it. And if a plan by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) succeeds, a remarkable airplane may one day do it too: plunge beneath the waves to stalk its prey, before re-emerging to fly home.

The DARPA plan, announced in October 2008, calls for a stealthy aircraft that can fly low over the sea until it nears its target, which could be an enemy ship, or a coastal site such as a port. It will then alight on the water and transform itself into a submarine that will cruise under water to within striking distance, all without alerting defences.