Where e-bikes dare! Crack British troops trial ‘stealthy’ successor to Flying Flea that can be parachuted behind enemy traces
- British troops are trialling stealthy electrical motorbikes for battlefield missions
- The near-silent autos had been examined again in November at a web site in rural France
- The £4,495 electrical grime bikes had been ridden by troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade
British troops skilled to drop behind enemy traces are trialling stealthy electrical motorbikes for battlefield missions.
The near-silent autos had been examined in November at a secret web site in rural France, the place rugged grime tracks and hilly terrain grew to become substitutes for desert and jungle fight zones.
The £4,495 electrical grime bikes, referred to as Sur-Ron Fireflys, had been ridden by troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade – the Army’s speedy response pressure most just lately deployed to evacuate Britons and assist workers from Afghanistan.
It is the newest try by Army chiefs to discover a trendy successor to the legendary Royal Enfield ‘Flying Flea’ motorbikes that had been parachuted into battle within the Second World War.
The £4,495 electrical grime bikes, referred to as Sur-Ron Fireflys, had been ridden by troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade – the Army’s speedy response pressure most just lately deployed to evacuate Britons and assist workers from Afghanistan
The Fireflys are gentle, weighing simply over 7st (45kg) in contrast to a daily bike’s 43st (272kg), and have a high pace of 45mph. They additionally go away solely a tiny ‘heat signature’, making them far much less probably to be detected by an enemy’s thermal sensors.
Powered by lithium batteries, which can be indifferent and carried individually when troops cross water, the bikes have a variety of 60 miles and are totally charged in simply over three hours.
The trials, which might see the bikes utilized in reside operations this yr, are being overseen by Captain Dan Lauder, a former Royal Marine commando who heads operations at 16 Air Assault Brigade.
‘The good thing about such a small vehicle is that you can get it in the back of helicopters,’ he stated.
‘You can get several in the back of a plane, and then also, potentially, you’d be in a position to drop it from the again underneath a parachute. They’re not noisy, they don’t make a lot thermal signature and so they can be utilized in a manner the place a petroleum engine would simply give your place away.’
Capt Lauder and his colleagues imagine the motorbikes might be best for reconnaissance missions and delivering essential intelligence throughout battle zones with out being detected.
![The Ministry of Defence said last night: ¿Further trials will be required before any decision is made to progress procurement¿](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/08/20/52701055-10382147-image-a-17_1641675373556.jpg)
The Ministry of Defence stated final night time: ‘Further trials will be required before any decision is made to progress procurement’
Brigadier Nick Cowley, Commander of 16 Air Assault, stated: ‘As we need to be able to fight in battlefields where we’re going to have intervals of denied communications, we’d like to have the utmost variety of methods of getting messages across the battlefield to ensure we can nonetheless manoeuvre.’
But the Fireflys might show problematic in some circumstances. The lithium batteries can lose their cost in chilly climate and a 60-mile vary might go away riders in search of charging factors in a struggle zone.
Capt Lauder additionally found that when a battle-ready soldier with rifle, provides and protecting gear rides the automobile arduous, its vary drops to a measly 25 miles.
Sur-Ron Fireflys can be found to the general public and prior to now have been linked to collisions the place pedestrians have been unable to hear the bikes approaching.
The Ministry of Defence stated final night time: ‘Further trials will be required before any decision is made to progress procurement.’
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