US ARMY COULD USE FLYING CARS

Jetsons to Afghanistan: flying car is US Army's future says, er, flying car company...

A Skycar. Not in army camouflage...

With the US Army struggling with the unique technological challenge presented by Afghanistan's tough terrain, there's plenty of ground to be made by an opportunistic and ambitious company. Enter the Moller Skycar. Resembling something that wouldn't look out of the place on the Jetsons this is, apparently, the answer to the US military's mobility problems. So says Moller, at least.

Taking the ethos of 'why drive on it when you can fly over it', the Moller Skycar "provides a more cost effective, highly maneuverable, lethal and safe platform for the 21st century soldier," according to the US Army's Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas, in a recently released white paper entitled 'Winning an Asymmetric War with Skycars.'

As the lieutenant rather observantly put it 'Afgahnistan is not Iraq' and the unique challenges it presents would be well suited to the Skycar, which combines the vertical take-off and landing capabilities of a helicopter, with the speed of a conventional prop aircraft, while also providing 'limited' on-road ability.

Lt Col Thomas isn't the only one praising the long-awaited Skycar. Moller tells us that, 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.

"Without any doubt, this technological innovation will succeed internationally in the private, commercial, and military sectors," says Colonel Harman. "I hope that the US 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."

The Skycar is powered by ethanol-burning rotary engines which combine both power and efficiency (we'll believe that when we see it - it's something Mazda has yet to master), while emitting exhausts that are sometimes cleaner than the surrounding air, which should prove reassuring when the surrounding air is shooting at you.

Despite all these advantages, you are unlikely to see the Skycar over a battlefield near you anytime soon, as there's no indication that the Skycar, or its engines, will go into production.

And take the whole thing with a healthy pinch of salt. Moller has been in the process of creating the Skycar for more than 20 years, and the source of most of these quotes is, er, Moller...

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