Military Hoverbikes: Futuristic Tech Coming To U.S. Military [Video]

The Department of Defense has joined forces with engineers in the United States and United Kingdom in order to develop Star Wars styled military hoverbikes. Last week, at the International Paris Air Show, The United States Army Research Laboratory made a deal with Malloy Aeronautics and Survice Engineering to further research and develop the technology needed in order to bring military hoverbikes to life.

Mark Butkiewicz works for Survice. Survice is the company in the United States that is being tasked with developing the technology of the military hoverbikes.

“The Department of Defense is interested in Hoverbike technology because it can support multiple roles. 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.”

Further research and development will take place in Harford County, Maryland. Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor, Boyd Rutherford, is excited about the prospects of new jobs in the technology sector that the military hoverbikes will bring to the state.

“I think there can be a lot of applications, and maybe I’ll be the fifth or sixth person to ride it. I’m going to wait until a couple of people ride it before me.”

Malloy Aeronautics in the United Kingdom will also have a role in developing the technology behind the Star Wars technology. Grant Stapleton talks about safety concerns that will need to be dealt with in order to make the military hoverbikes safe.

“Primarily there’s safety. 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 idea for the military hoverbikes came from the brain of Chris Malloy. In September 2014, Chris launched a campaign on Kickstarter in order to build a prototype. The Kickstarter campaign brought in £64,809 ($100,830). It did not take long for the military to contact Chris in order to develop his technology for military purposes.

The latest prototype of the hoverbikes uses two propellers powered by a 1,170-cc four-stroke engine and a lightweight carbon fiber body. The maximum allowable weight for take off is listed at 270 kilograms (595 pounds). The hoverbike runs on gas and has a range of 148 kilometers (91 miles) on one tank of gas.

Malloy Aeronautics has a video that will allow people to see the hoverbike in action.

Would you be willing to ride on one of these military hoverbikes?

[Image via Techtimes.com]