Several U.S. companies are developing a four-person vertical take-off flyable and roadable vehicle for the military after the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a 65 million-dollar program, according to a press release Tuesday by Terrafugia, Inc.

Terrafugia, Inc., the Transition Roadable Aircraft, or “Flying Car” manufacturer, is the largest subcontractor to one of the two winning teams, led by AAI Corporation and comprised of other Textron companies.

The vehicle, known as the Transformer, or TX, would function like a Humvee on the ground while also providing helicopter-like mobility, the press release said.

The result will be “unprecedented capability to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions,” according to a DARPA announcement.

Intended missions for the flying car include medical evacuation, avoidance of improvised explosive devices, remote resupply, and Special Forces insertion. The vehicle will be able to travel 280 miles (448 kilometers) by land and air, using vertical take-off and landing to increase access to difficult terrain, and automating flight controls to enable operation by non-pilots.

Phase I of the five year, three-phase program will focus on conceptual design of both a prototype and a production vehicle. Phases II and III will focus on the design and manufacture of the prototype, which could be ready as early as first quarter 2015, the release said.

The work calls for Terrafugia’s expertise in drive and flight integration, deployable flight surfaces, and automotive crash safety for an aircraft.

The press release quoted Chief Executive Officer Carl Dietrich from Terrafugia, Inc. as saying: “This DARPA program effectively leverages Terrafugia’s core competencies and enables us to grow from a pure GA company to an emerging aerospace company with both general aviation and defense development programs. Our strong team of Terrafugia engineers with recent experience designing and building a dual purpose vehicle will bring a unique perspective to the TX program that is highly valued by DARPA and the other contractors on our TX team.”

The TX program represents an opportunity for Terrafugia to rededicate members of its engineering team as its primary business, the Transition(R) Light Sport Aircraft Program, moves forward on schedule from detailed design to fabrication, testing and production in the second half of 2011.

Terrafugia is Latin for “escape from land.” It is the first company in the U.S. which has taken orders to manufacture the world’s first flying car in the second half of 2011.

In April scientists at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency put out a call seeking designs for a tactical flying car under its Transformer (TX) program. One of the first to respond is AVX Aircraft Company — its AVX Aircraft that can be manually driven on the ground like an SUV and also boasts Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capability.

The stated objective of the TX program is to demonstrate a four-person flyable and roadable vehicle that will provide the war fighter with terrain-independent mobility. This presents unprecedented capability to avoid traditional and asymmetrical threats while avoiding road obstructions.

The TX will be designed to enhance future operations with use in strike and raid, intervention, interdiction, insurgency and counterinsurgency, reconnaissance, medical evacuation and logistical supply, according to DARPA.

DARPA called for a design of the flying car for military purposes that could be manually driven on the ground like an SUV. It will rapidly configure between ground and flight configuration. It has Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capability and has a cruise speed equivalent to a light aircraft and has automated takeoff and landing flight control.

AVX met these performance requirements with its AVX TX design that has: 1,040 lb payload, 250 nautical mile range on one tank of fuel, 10,000 ft mean sea level altitude at max gross weight 80mph on road speed, 30mph rough terrain speed and 140mph flying speed converts from road to flight mode in 60 seconds.

According to AVX, its TX will also have intuitive controls that will provide non-pilot operator control and navigation systems that are intuitive enough to facilitate the transition from road to flight operations. The vehicle’s dual ducted fans will provide propulsion both on the ground and in the air.

Additionally the AVX (TX) can be quickly converted to medivac with a vehicle operator, medical attendant and littered patient. It can also be converted to a resupply vehicle and can move 1,250 lbs as an unmanned vehicle using a sling or 1,000 lbs as a manned vehicle with the same 250 nm range.

Meanwhile, Moller International has announced that it has completed the design of a true hybrid flying car, which is a 2-passenger car capable of lifting off vertically and flying for about 15 minutes.

Called the autovolantor, it is designed to function on the road very much like a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) until one gets stuck in traffic. At that point, it can lift off vertically and fly at up to 150 mph for a short distance. Upon landing it can drive on the ground for up to 40 miles or longer using one of its eight Rotapower engines to generate electrical power.