Transformers, less then meets the Eye...

The HMMWV.  A light truck that was never meant to anything but run around the safe 'rear areas' of the linear battlefield that was disappearing by the end of World War Two.  In training areas within CONUS it is a wonders and useful thing.  In areas were people might actually shoot at it or attack it in any way it's a casualty producer for those stuck with no other kind of transport.

The Helicopter.  It became the wonder weapon of the Vietnam War even though large numbers were lost and even more people were lost with them.  In the conflicts since it's still managed to maintain some of it's mystique even though it is no less vulnerable then it was 40 years ago. 

So what does DARPA want to do?  Combine both into a flying truck and call it a Transformer.  Take the vulnerable, yet cheap Humvee and make it considerably more expensive and even more vulnerable.  Take it from easy to operate and maintain (as long as no weapons of any kind get anywhere close to it) and remake it into a complicated nightmare.

The vehicle's designers say it could offer several key advantages with the ability to avoid improvised explosive devices, chief among them. The vehicle would allow troops to hop over roadside bombs simply by flying above them. And while the vehicle would not posses nearly the amount of armor current vehicles do since it must be light to fly, it would still offer protection against most small-arms fire.

The problem with IEDs isn't avoiding the ones you know are there, it's SURVIVING the ones you DON'T know are there. 

There is another huge problem.  The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, who's flying performance is similar to what the DARPA wants with it's Transformer (their term, not mine), has a combat weight of 5,200lb.  The average unarmored weighs between 5,200lb and 5,900lb.  And that's empty.  The M1114 Uparmored Humvee weighs 9,800lb empty and with a max weight of 12,100lb.

This vehicle will solve nothing.  It will be vulnerable on the ground because it will still be lightly armored and it will be weighed down by aircraft components.  It will be vulnerable in the air because it will be slow and likely have poor maneuverability.  A prime target for RPGs.  Just another way the DARPA is working it's magic by taking US Taxpayer dollars and making them disappear.