Law enforcement personnel on some type of hovercraft seem to be a figment of science fiction imagination but in Dubai this will soon be a reality. The police force of Dubai is set to revolutionise itself now and crime fighting hover bikes are going to be a part of this!
The Dubai police already has an impressive collection of super cars such as Aston Martin, Audi R8, Bentley, BMWs, Brabus Mercedes Benz, Lamborghini, Porsche, Lexus and others. These luxury sports cars and SUVs complement the regular green and white patrol cars to help with high speed pursuits, for car parades and so on.
Last year, they debuted the Dubai Robocop and the world’s first robot police officer officially reported for duty at the UAE’s flagship Dubai Mall in May 2017. The robot can recognise faces of wanted criminals, help shoppers in 6 lanugages and contact the police if there is a problem. The built in screen is for people to report crimes, pay fines and so on. In times to come, such Robocops could make up a fourth of the total police force of the city.
They are motor cycles that hover. Literally. These are electric vertical take-off and landing bikes that can hover above the ground and surge forward as required. Remember Star Wars: Return of the Jedi? This is a little bit like that.
The idea behind these hover bikes is to place more power in the hands of crime fighters. Now they will be able to access difficult to reach areas, reach emergencies quickly, circumvent traffic snarls and get a bird's eye view of the situation.
This vehicle is manufactured by a Russian owned company called Hoversurf based out of California. The 115 kg vehicle can hover four metres above the ground and fly at speeds up to 100 khph. However, these crafts can only fly for about 25 minutes at a time and hence have a limited range.
These flying vehicles have been tested for the Dubai police force and police personnel are currently being trained on this.
The bikes cost about AED550,000 ($150,000) and will be introduced into the force by 2020. Meanwhile the bikes have caused quite a tizzy on social media and many have expressed the desire to move to Dubai to join the police force!
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
