The Department of Defense has joined forces with American engineers in order to develop hoverbikes that look like they came straight out of Star Wars.
The U.S. Army announced a partnership with a company called Malloy Aeronautics at the Paris Air Show last week with the goal of developing a hoverbike for American soldiers, according to Inquisitr. The last time we heard from this U.K. based company, they were testing hoverbike technology.
Sources claim that the hoverbike would serve the same purpose for the military as tiny helicopters. They would be able to use their two propellers to lift heavy cargo, but they would be more nimble than a military chopper, CNET reported.
Malloy Aeronautics' hybrid hoverbike works like a giant propeller drone that combines the lifting power of a helicopter with the look and feel of a motorcycle. It creates lift using two oak propellers powered by a 1,170-cc four-stroke engine and a lightweight carbon fiber body. The company claims its latest prototype has a maximum takeoff weight of 270 kilograms (just over 595 pounds) and can log a distance of 148 kilometers (just over 91 miles) on a single tank of gas.
The idea for the hoverbikes is the brainchild of Chris Malloy, who launched a campaign on Kickstarter in September 2014 in order to build a prototype. The campaign managed to bring in $100,830, more than enough to get the project off the ground. Once the military caught wind of his pet project, it didn't take long for them to contact him.
U.S. soldiers will soon be riding around like Stormtroopers, but hopefully the Death Star isn't next on the military's list.
