The test of the 'hoverbike' prototype developed by New Zealand Malloy Aeronautics and destined for future use in the US Army and USMC was successfully carried out at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Also present at the demonstration of the prototype was Dr. William Roper, director of the Strategic Capabilities Office for the Secretary of Defense.
The project, born as a kickstarter, has secured a contract with the two US armed forces that are now collaborating on joint development thanks to its interesting capabilities.
This JTARV, which stands for Joint Tactical Aerial Resupply Vehicle, definitely reminiscent of the 'speeder bikes' we saw in the sixth episode of the 'Star Wars' saga, but could be used in the future on real battlefields: to transport supplies to soldiers on the field reaching the very front line in record time.
Tim Vong, associate chief of the protection division of the Army Research Lab, commented that it will be like "Having Amazon on the battlefield", since these hoverbikes will be able to carry the required supplies in less than 30 minutes.
Several things still need to be 'fine-tuned' before the operational use of JTARVs becomes a reality. Its developers are looking to build a hybrid propulsion system to increase range (up to 200 kilometers), and they intend to increase payload capacities, taking it beyond 360 kilograms.
At the moment the prototype reaches a speed of 60 km / h and an altitude of over 1000 feet.
