US Navy SEALS, Green Berets getting new stealth motorbikes
The U.S. military is preparing to arm its most elite warriors with dirt motorbikes so quiet they are “about as loud as an indoor conversation,” according to We Are Mighty.
The hybrid Silent Hawk motorbike will equip various units of the U.S. armed forces (Picture source: www.forcesoperations.com)
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is weighing whether to adopt two potential dirt bikes for special operators. The two bikes, "Silent Hawk" and "Nightmare", are hybrid vehicles capable of running on lithium-ion batteries as well as an assortment of different power supplies, including JP-8 jet fuel, propane and olive oil. Yes, olive oil, period!
The DARPA started the stealthy motorbike competition in 2014. Company officials for Logos, the maker of the Silent Hawk, have said that the US Marine Corps, Army and Special Forces as well as foreign militaries are interested in the vehicle's development.
The power and impact of dirt bikes as a means for sending messages in large-scale combat is not to be underestimated. During a simulated battle known as the 2002 Millennium Challenge Exercise, a three-star US Marine General defeated an entire US Navy carrier strike group by coding messages in prayer booklets and dispersing orders through dirt bike couriers.
When the Blue Force, representing a US-like force, stared down General Paul Van Riper's Red Forces, which commanded a military force comparable to that of Iran, the hard-nosed Marine predicted that after the Red Forces lost their microwave towers and fiber optics networks, the Blue Forces would surveil their cell phones and satellite communications channels. To keep Blue Force from learning his plans, Van Riper sent out orders to people on motorcycles with messages coded into prayers.
From miniaturized sensors to high-energy lasers, to quiet multi-fuel hybrid-electric engines, Logos Technologies is constantly on the cutting–edge of research and development.
Silent Hawk is an award-winning, hybrid-electric motorcycle currently under development by Logos Technologies, in partnership with San Francisco-based Alta Motors. The DARPA program calls for a lightweight, rugged, single-track vehicle that can operate near-silently for extended periods while transporting small numbers of troops over hostile terrain.
The vehicle combines Logos Technologies’ proven, multifuel hybrid-electric power system with a cutting-edge, off-road electric motorcycle platform developed by Alta Motors. This initiative will be the first time that a two-wheel-drive, multifuel hybrid capability has been integrated into a full-size off-road motorcycle.
Operators will benefit from the near-silent capability and ease of operation of an all-electric vehicle, along with the adaptable power generation and extended range of a multifuel internal combustion engine. The bike will also offer the capability to provide supplemental power for electric devices in the field.
