Military Hoverbikes Being Developed For U.S. Army

Military hoverbikes will soon be able to help American soldiers get to where they need to be far more quickly. The United States Army recently announced a partnership with Malloy Aeronautics to make the two-propeller heavy cargo-lifting hoverbikes.

The hoverbikes can reportedly be used as “tiny helicopters.” The hybrid hoverbike prototype by Malloy Aeronautics reportedly functions like a “giant propeller drone,” combined with the lifting capabilities of a helicopter while maintaining the “look and feel” of a motorcycle. According to the maker, the Back to the Future and Star Wars style machines can take flight carrying almost 600 pounds. A single tank of gas can transport a soldier a little more than 90 miles.

Chris Malloy developed the hoverbike courtesy of a Kickstarter project, which garnered about $100,000, last summer. According to the prototype developer, the military hoverbikes would first be used to move cargo, but the ultimate goal for the futuristic machines would be to offer a lift to members of a “hoverbike-riding cavalry.”

Malloy Aeronautics, a U.K. company, will be setting up shop in Maryland and working in conjunction with the Survice Engineering Company and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to turn the hoverbike prototype into a “new class of Tactical Reconnaissance Vehicle — TRV.”

The military hoverbikes will reportedly allow both safer and less expensive transport of cargo to soldiers in the field. Malloy Aeronautics has been designing and developing the vehicles since 2009.

“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,” Malloy’s marketing sales director Grant Stapleton said during an interview with Reuters.

During an interview with Fox News, Malloy Aeronautics stated that the hoverbike technology also possesses “great potential” in the commercial sector, as well.

“It’s well suited to a lot of non-military and commercial uses, such as emergency services, agricultural use, search and rescue, and moving cargo around,” a Malloy spokesman noted.

The first Malloy hoverbike prototype was reportedly a two-propeller bi-copter. The aeronautics company decided it could not design a bi-copter cheaply enough from a competitive sales and safety perspective. The company then shifted its focus to developing a four-propeller quadcopter. The current version of the military hoverbikes uses offset and overlapping rotor blades to reduce weight and surface area.

Would you like to one day park a hoverbike in your own garage?

[Image via Facebook]