In Dubai, police officers are training on flying hoverbikes with four propellers to assist them to fight crime from the skies. Dubai police are known for staying on the bleeding edge of technology, so it is of no surprise that they are now training to work on flying motorbikes.
After all, the same city where the police force possesses the Guinness World Record for the world’s quickest police car in service, a Bugatti Veyron that is one among the 14 supercars in their fleet.
With a motive of introducing flying motorcycles into service by 2020, Dubai’s police force has previously begun training their vertical take-offs, landings, and hovering.
Hoverbikes being tested by Dubai Police
Every vehicle is produced by California-based startup Hoversurf, which last year brought to an agreement with Dubai to contribute the emirate with a fleet of flying vehicles. As of writing, the police force has got their first production unit with more on the way.
Brigadier Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, the general director of Dubai police’s artificial intelligence department, stated that the vehicle will be used in first-responder roles because of its ability to access hard-to-reach locations.
The 253-pound bike can hit a maximum speed of 60 m.p.h. Technology is still fairly inadequate by existing battery technology, so it can only remain airborne for about 10-25 minutes with a pilot or up to 40 minutes in drone mode.
It takes 2.5 hours for the bikes to reach a full charge, and each one will cost Dubai around $150,000. If capable of spending $150,000 on this cool technology, civilians are also capable of buying their own hoverbike.
While there is no word on how, or if, hoverbikes abide by normal laws and Traffic Signs, but Hoversurf’s bikes have previously met Federal Aviation Administration guidelines meaning a pilot’s license is not needed to fly the vehicle.
Watch a video of Dubai Police Training To Use Flying Motorbikes: