( CNN ) -- Call it part tank , part boat and part beer cooler . But it 's unquestionably all cool . It 's a new U.S. Marine Corps vehicle for getting stuff like troops , tanks and trucks from ships to shore and back . The Corps showed off a prototype of its Ultra Heavy-lift Amphibious Connector ( UHAC ) last week during Rim of the Pacific exercises in Hawaii , running it from the Navy 's amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore to the beaches of Marine Corps Training Area Bellows on Oahu . `` Showcasing the UHAC during RIMPAC is a big deal , '' Dave George of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab , which developed the UHAC with funding from the Office of Naval Research , said in a press release . `` This is a great way to let people know that this new technology is being developed . '' Here 's how the UHAC works : The tracks , which are made of what the Marines call `` captured-air foam blocks , '' extend like flippers to propel the craft through the water . When it hits the beach , the foam flattens to become like the tracks on a tank or a bulldozer , only much softer , according to a report from Stars and Stripes . Last week , the UHAC prototype , which is about half the size of envisioned production models , carried an assault vehicle from the Rushmore to the beach . The Marine Corps says a full-size UHAC would be able to carry much more . `` The full-scale model should be able to carry at least three tanks and a HMMVW ( High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle ) , '' Gunnery Sgt . Joseph Perera , the Warfighting Lab 's Infantry Weapons Project officer , said in a statement . That 's about three times the load that the Corps ' current craft assigned to the task , called a Landing Craft Air Cushion ( LCAC ) , can handle . It also will be able to surmount bigger obstacles . While an LCAC can only get over a 4-foot-high sea wall , a full-size UHAC will be able to get over sea walls as high as 10 , 12 or even 16 feet , according to the Corps . The UHAC prototype type is not armored or armed , but Perera said production models would have armor plating and a .50-caliber machine guns for protection . They also would be much faster . The prototype could only go 5 mph on the water , but a full-size UHAC should do 25 mph , Gen. Kevin Killea , commander of the Corps ' Warfighting Lab , told Stars and Stripes . The UHAC prototype used last week is the third in the program , built upon a concept originally proposed by the Hawaii-based shipbuilding and research firm Navatek , Ltd. `` There has been a one-fifth scale model , then a one-quarter scale model and this is a half-scale model , so we have been progressing , '' Frank Leban , program officer at the Office of Naval Research , said in a statement . `` Every vehicle has incorporated more features and technology to help get us to the full scale . '' There 's no word yet on when the full-scale model may actually come , but officials were happy with last week 's demonstration . `` This is a great way to show what it can do , '' said George . `` Today went quite well . ''
It uses synthetic rubber for paddles , tracks . The Heavy - lift Amphibious Connector can carry tanks , trucks from ship to shore . Vehicle must be able to get over sea walls 12 feet tall or higher , Marines International says .