Posted on Friday, April 18, 2014 - 09:16 am:

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DARPA – the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – recently awarded a small business innovation research grant to develop a military-use, hybrid motorcycle that will operate nearly silently in electric mode.

The partnership between two small innovative American companies, Logos Technologies and BRD, leverages the former’s expertise in hybrid power projects and the latter’s in creating state-of-the-art electric motorcycles.

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Soft soil and narrow, steep trails can be difficult to navigate, and that’s why DARPA is calling for two-wheel-drive vehicles, which will be able to travel substantial distances on challenging terrain more easily.

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And it will provide more than a way to travel; the hybrid will be a portable electric power source, thus reducing the need to lug heavy batteries into the field.

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DARPA wants the vehicle to be electric-only for short periods of time and to run on JP-8 or diesel when it isn’t.

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The features that the military would like – heavy fuel capability, two wheel drive and hybrid powertrains – have all been achieved independently, but this will be the first time all these capabilities are combined.

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