Or for the more cynical, replace "search and rescue" with "military covert ops".
Makes the UFO/UAP stories about "it transitioned from the water to the air and back to the water!!" seem way more plausible.
People always say this, but anyone I know who's ever worked in one of these companies that contracts for the DoD or DARPA always complains about how behind the market government tech is. Obviously private industry isn't producing competitors to the F35, but for less complicated kit the government doesn't seem to be doing anything super sophisticated. In fact a bunch of people I knew who went to Iraq bought supplemental gear on the private market.
What's the use case? We have very good dedicated aerial drones and very good dedicated submarine drones. If something is technically possible but no one makes it usually it means it's not that interesting
bestouff•2h ago