ErikStenger
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What are the chances that American soldiers will soon be ditching their High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles – better known as the HMMWV, Humvee or just the Hummer – for flying Skycars from Moller? Well, let's just say we're not holding our breath. Still, there's apparently at least a few people that think the Skycar would be ideal for military use.
According to Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas, 304th SB, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Moller's vehicles could be very useful in combat:
Poor and unimproved roads and rugged terrain severely limit the use of the [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle]. The Moller Skycar(R) provides a more cost effective, highly maneuverable, lethal and safe platform for the 21st century soldier to dominate and win in an Asymmetric Warfare Environment. The Skycar(R) will become the MRAP vehicle of Afghanistan. The ability to safely and rapidly employ soldiers on the battlefield enables us to exercise economy of force on the battlefield, doing more with fewer soldiers.
One of Moller's claims to fame comes from its ethanol-burning Rotapower rotary engines, which it says make lots of power while using little fuel and emitting exhaust that's sometimes cleaner than the surrounding air. Currently, though, there's no indication that these engines or the Skycars using them will be in production any time soon. Color us skeptical. Click past the break for the official press release.
[Source: Moller]
PRESS RELEASE:
Moller International, Inc. Skycar Could Allow Military to Do More in Afghanistan With Fewer Soldiers
August 27, 2009 /EIN News/ -- Moller International (the "Company" -- OTC-BB: MLER) is pleased to announce today that its Skycar technology has gained ground within the military for its use in high-tech, demanding battlefield applications like those in Afghanistan. "Afghanistan is not Iraq" stated Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas, 304th SB, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. "The MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle that turned the tide of battle in Iraq will have much less impact in Afghanistan," he continued in a recently issued white paper entitled Winning an Asymmetric War with Skycars. This report, directed to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), spelled out the numerous advantages the Skycar(R) aircraft could offer the military in its effort to win the war in Afghanistan."Poor and unimproved roads and rugged terrain severely limit the use of the MRAP. The Moller Skycar(R) provides a more cost effective, highly maneuverable, lethal and safe platform for the 21st century soldier to dominate and win in an Asymmetric Warfare Environment. The Skycar(R) will become the MRAP vehicle of Afghanistan. The ability to safely and rapidly employ soldiers on the battlefield enables us to exercise economy of force on the battlefield, doing more with fewer soldiers."
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas is not the first voice within the military to suggest the use of the Skycar in improving maneuverability on the battlefield. In an article titled A Revolutionary Vehicle for the Future, Colonel Larry Harman, then Vice Director of the Combat Service Support Battle Laboratory at Fort Lee, Virginia discusses the Skycar's military version referred to as the LAMV (pronounced "lam-vee"
, or light aerial multipurpose vehicle."(The) LAMV will benefit the Army's battlefield distribu tion concept tremendously because it will be able to move commodities rapidly when and where they are needed across a widely dispersed battle space. Both air and ground main supply routes (MSR's) would exist throughout the battle space," he goes on to say."Without any doubt, this technological innovation will succeed internationally in the private, commercial, and mili tary sectors. I hope that the U.S. Army will be the first army in the world to embrace and exploit this technology. But sooner rather than later, this aerial vehicle technology will affect all of our lives. It is just over the horizon."Has it ever flown? =YES: http://www.moller.com/video2.htm
