American soldiers could soon be riding Star Wars-style hoverbikes during their operations! This is according to a recent announcement that engineers from firms in the US and UK would team up to develop technology similar to the iconic movie vehicles for the Department of Defense.
Will the army be like Luke and Leia as they chase Scout Troopers?
According to BBC News, the bikes will be similar in functionality to helicopters, but will overcome some of the design limitations of those older rotocrafts. They will be researched and developed in Harford County, Maryland and will be usable in military and emergency aid operations.
Prototype versions of the hoverbikes, which the British news agency said “are reminiscent of the racers that Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia used… in the film Return of the Jedi,” are currently being worked on by the two firms, SURVICE (US) and Malloy Aeronautics (UK).
In a statement, SURVICE said that the hoverbike was being developed to operate as a new class of tactical reconnaissance vehicle (TRV) and was part of their existing R&D agreement with the US Army Research Laboratory. A model was on display at this year’s Paris Air Show.
Hoverbikes are a safer, cheaper option
“The Department of Defense is interested in hoverbike technology because it can support multiple roles,” explained Survice’s Mark Butkiewicz. “It can transport troops over difficult terrain, and when it’s not used in that purpose it can also be used to transport logistics, supplies, and it can operate in both a manned and unmanned asset.”
Including safety and cost, “There are a lot of advantages of the hoverbike over a regular helicopter,” Malloy’s marketing sales director, Grant Stapleton, told Reuters. “With adducted rotors you immediately not only protect people and property if you were to bump into them, but if you ever were to bump into somebody or property it’s going to bring the aircraft out of the air… The other thing is cost. [It] is much less expensive to buy a Hoverbike and much less expensive to run.”
As part of the agreement, Malloy, which was originally formed three years ago to help develop and market drones and hoverbike technology to commercial and military partners, announced it was opening a US office next to SURVICE’s corporate headquarters in Maryland.
“The proximity to the Army Research Laboratory and U.S. defense decision-makers, the access to the world-class facilities through the laboratory’s Open Campus initiative, and the co-location with our strategic business partner, SURVICE Engineering, were all factors in favor of Maryland as the best choice for Malloy Aeronautics.”
—–
Follow redOrbit on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.
Comments