DARPA, which stands for the The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is part of the US Department of Defense, and is looking for ideas that bring Sci-fi to reality. What they are looking for is an aerial platform that can launch and recover unmanned aerial systems (drones). These can be used for missile strikes, intel, bombing, ground support and much more, from a single flying platform.
Of course they are not looking for a large aircraft carrier that can fly and become invisible, or even just a plane with drones attached (well maybe), but new creative ideas to push the envelope.
So yes, this is real, and here is exactly what they are looking for, and a link on how you can submit your own concepts in 8 pages or less.
These are the areas that must be addressed in the designs,
via Darpa
The new RFI invites short (8 pages or less) responses that must address three primary areas:
System-level technologies and concepts that would enable low-cost reusable small UAS platforms and airborne launch and recovery systems that would require minimal modification of existing large aircraft types. This area includes modeling and simulation as well as feasibility analysis, including substantiating preliminary data if available.
Potentially high-payoff operational concepts and mission applications for distributed airborne capabilities and architectures, as well as relative capability and affordability compared to conventional approaches (e.g., monolithic aircraft and payloads or missile-based approaches). DARPA hopes to leverage significant investments in the area of precision relative navigation, which seeks to enable extremely coordinated flight activities among aircraft, as well as recent and ongoing development of small payloads (100 pounds or less).
Proposed plans for achieving full-system flight demonstrations within four years, to assist in planning for a potential future DARPA program. DARPA is interested not only in what system functionality such plans could reasonably achieve within that timeframe, but also how to best demonstrate this functionality to potential users and transition partners. These notional plans should include rough order-of-magnitude (ROM) cost and schedule information, as well as interim risk reduction and demonstration events to evaluate program progress and validate system feasibility and interim capabilities.
If you are interested in checking out more, or even submitting a concept, follow the news release from Darpa here at this link.
http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2014/11/09.aspx