Virtually silent electric reconnaissance motorcycles seen on Special Ops UH-60s.
Journalist Andrew White from Janes discovered an interesting new idea at the recent Dubai Airshow 2021 when he photographed a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the United Arab Emirates with a series of special side mounts to transport clandestine electric powered off-road motorcycles for use by special operations teams.
The configuration is intended to help smuggle covert special operations and / or long-range surveillance units with helicopters into restricted areas. The mission concept aims to undermine the often extremely long distances that reconnaissance and special operations teams had to cover on foot, such as in Desert Storm when hunting for the Iraqi Scud rocket launchers.
Several UH-60 Black Hawk Specialized helicopters could deploy small 2-6-man reconnaissance or direct-action teams on the outer edge of the defensive surveillance capability of their target area. Instead of having to travel long distances in their patrol area, they would use the almost silent electric motorcycles to drive to the patrol area. From there, the scouting mission could be carried out by the mounted patrol, or the scout team could set up a covert observation post in a hiding place and monitor an area of interest over the long term.
The small motorcycles, according to a report by Micah Toll for electrek.com, will likely only cost between $ 8,500 and $ 10,000.
Toll wrote: “The electric motorcycles in question appear to be Zero FX models specifically designed for off-road riding in harsh conditions. The bikes have 34 kW (45 PS) top-performance electric motors and top speeds of around 80 mph (130 km / h). “
The use of motorcycles for reconnaissance operations dates back as far back in military history as the motorcycle itself, but the use of light motorcycles from aircraft for special operations is a relatively new trend that has existed since the early formation of modern Tier 1 special forces such as the Special Forces Operational Detachment-D (SFO-D), often referred to as “Delta”, and the long-haul teams of the British Special Air Service.
During the unfortunate Operation Eagle Claw Mission to rescue US hostages in Iran on 24./25. In an important part of the attack on Desert One’s ground, the site of the collision between an MC-130 and an RH-53D helicopter, one of U.S. Army Captain Wade Ishimoto’s motorcycles failed to start after three attempts when he tried to Tracking an Iranian truck passing through the staging area where the planes were supposed to refuel on the ground. The delay in starting the motorcycle allowed the occupants of the Iranian truck to escape in another vehicle, although they may not pose an imminent security threat.
The incident underscored the need for motorcycles used by special forces to be absolutely reliable. New electrically powered motorcycles may offer greater levels of mechanical reliability, but are subject to the limitations of battery charging. However, for very long missions, some arrangements may be made to use small portable solar cells to recharge the motorcycle batteries.
Tom Demerly is a feature writer, journalist, photographer, and editorial who has written articles all over the world on TheAviationist.com, TACAIRNET.com, Outside magazine, Business Insider, We Are The Mighty, The Dearborn Press & Guide, National Interest. are published, Russia’s government media Sputnik and many other publications. Demerly studied journalism at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. Tom Demerly served in an intelligence unit as a member of the U.S. Army and the Michigan National Guard. As an honorary graduate of the US Army Infantry School in Ft. Benning, Georgia (Cycle C-6-1) and as Scout Observer in a reconnaissance unit, Company “F”, 425th INF (RANGER / AIRBORNE), Long Range Surveillance Unit (LRSU). Demerly is a skilled skydiver, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and flown several types of light aircraft.
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