All of us, who grew up on war films and books, can easily imagine soldiers on motorcycles. Usually, an image of German motorcyclists from the mechanized units of the Wehrmacht is born in the head, images of the Red Army men pop up less often, and almost always these are motorcycles with a sidecar. But all these are distant images of the Second World War. Today, motorcycles in the armies of the countries of the world have become a rarity, but they have not lost their relevance for solving highly specialized tasks. In particular, in the United States, the defense research agency DARPA, commissioned by the American military, began developing a hybrid stealth motorcycle.
Special forces teams are interested in such a technique, which can use hybrid motorcycles in special operations. They need motorcycles for lightning-fast raids and penetration into remote areas. So DARPA is working on a silent hybrid motorcycle that can run on both electricity and conventional fuel and is invisible to thermal imagers. Essentially, this is a fast vehicle for performing silent raids.
The rationale for using hybrid systems that can run on both gasoline and electricity is that they allow commandos-saboteurs to penetrate deep into the rear of the enemy off-road using a silent electric motor, at the same time, making it possible to provide a high speed of movement and a large radius of action for by using an auxiliary gas tank. Although this project is currently still in the research stage, the direct developer Logos Technologies expects to combine its own multi-fuel silent hybrid power system with an electric motorcycle company BRD Motorcycles, which specializes in the production of sports motorcycles of various classes.
“Lightweight, quiet and strong enough with four-wheel drive, it can be a reliable aid in special operations carried out by the US military, especially in extreme conditions and on rough terrain,” says Wade Pulliam, advanced engineering specialist at Logos Technologies. According to Pulliam, today the military is increasingly using small-sized battle groups, which have not had access to basic military infrastructure for quite a long time. “Under these conditions, they are forced to rely on efficient and unpretentious technology, like a hybrid electric motorcycle. Our motorcycle can be classified as an advanced technology, while it is easy to operate and relatively cheap, almost silent in operation and can use several types of fuel,”he praises his company's project. The "stealth" technology of the hybrid military motorcycle is realized through the use of a hybrid electric motor that can run on both electricity and carbon fuel.
Among other things, such a motorcycle will not only be able to increase the autonomy of its movement compared to ordinary motorcycles, which are equipped only with internal combustion engines (ICE), but also act as a backup power source for military personnel. If, somewhere along the road, a soldier needs to connect to the power supply, its role can easily be taken over by a rechargeable battery installed on a stealth motorcycle. Also, installing an electric motor on a motorcycle will allow you to achieve fuel savings of at least 10%.
At the same time, according to the plans of engineers from DARPA, electricity for the new motorcycle will act as an additional advantage. It will mainly be used as a backup source for movement only during special operations or when making covert maneuvers. The rest of the time the motorcycle will ride on a regular internal combustion engine, burning standard American JP-8 fuel (aviation kerosene). This fuel is a universal fuel for military equipment of the NATO bloc. It is used in the Air Force, as well as in the ground forces for refueling tanks, ground vehicles, mobile and portable diesel generators (as a replacement for diesel fuel). If we talk about such a parameter as the loudness of the motorcycle engine, then, according to preliminary information, a hybrid motorcycle will be able to provide a fourfold reduction in noise level compared to ordinary motorcycles (about 90 dB).
BRD RedShift MX
It is planned to use the existing model of the BRD RedShift MX racing motorcycle to develop the basic platform of the hybrid motorcycle. This all-electric motorcycle weighing 100 kg can be purchased today for 15 thousand dollars. At the moment, the RedShift MX motorcycle provides a two-hour power reserve, which can be increased by installing a gas tank on it, the capacity of which will be determined by the US military in the course of the conducted research. The focus on the electrical element of the new system is due to the fact that DARPA thinks much more about the quietness and stealth of a military motorcycle than about its effectiveness. And although the existing unmodified version of the RedShift MX motorcycle is able to reach speeds of up to 130 km / h, this opportunity is unlikely to be useful when traveling on rough terrain and off-road, which is due to the conduct of special operations.
At the same time, it cannot be said that the idea of using special commands on silent motorcycles came up with the American military only in 2014. Zero Motorcycles was awarded a military contract last year to build a similar electric bike for special forces. The following requirements were imposed on the motorcycle: the ability to ignition without a key and completely shut off the electrical system, the presence of replaceable battery packs, which would be enough for 2 hours of operation.
While designers at Logos say their SUV is the first 4WD vehicle of its kind with a multi-fuel electric motor, this is not entirely true. In June 2013, Zero Motorcycles already announced a similar project - an electric bike called MMX. According to the Defense Media Network portal, this motorcycle was developed specifically for the needs of the military and gave an idea of how exactly such a technique should look like. Engineers at Zero Motorcycles say that the thermal signature of such a motorcycle is almost invisible to modern thermal imagers, and its engine runs almost silently. To control the MMX electric bike, a special dashboard with toggle switches was installed, which replaces the traditional ignition key and allows you to very quickly start the motorcycle, as well as control its systems.
At the same time, it was reported that all the options of the MMX motorcycle could be configured via Bluetooth using a special application that could be installed on a tablet or phone. The front and rear of the motorcycle had special connectors designed to connect additional military equipment and infrared night vision systems. Modular batteries could be easily replaced in the field, and the electric bike could work efficiently when it was immersed in water for a long time to a depth of 1 meter.
However, unlike Zero Motorcycles, Logos Technologies focuses primarily on disruptive scientific technology. This company worked on the creation of lasers, biofuels, state-of-the-art tracking sensors, and cyber defense systems. Her customers included the Pentagon and the American police. So we can count on the Logos company to be able to surprise us with something.
Konstantin Sivkov, Doctor of Military Sciences, Vice President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, believes that there are no combat motorcycles in the Russian army, since the effectiveness of such equipment is low. “This is reminiscent of the story with the American Stryker armored personnel carriers: Afghanistan has clearly shown that this light vehicle has low efficiency, its armor is easily penetrated, but where to go if 4,000 vehicles have already been produced? Serious weapons cannot be installed on a motorcycle unless you attach a sidecar to the motorcycle, which makes it pointless. If we take non-urban conditions of use, then biker units can be relatively easily identified and then destroyed, Sivkov said in an interview with the Russian Planet.
Zero Motorcycles ММХ
According to the expert, lightweight silent motorcycles are suitable only for a narrow range of tasks. Such motorcycles are suitable for selective strikes against individual targets and reconnaissance. It is best to act with their help in areas with a developed road network. At the same time, Konstantin Sivkov believes that the use of an electric motor is very doubtful, in order to go somewhere a battery with a mass of about 20 kg would be needed.
