On Sep. 7, The Drive reported that “Jetpacks Will Soon Be Headed To A Military In Southeast Asia.” But what exactly does that mean? Will we soon see military troops with jetpacks on their backs flying around in war? Or is reality not quite there yet?
(RELATED: Human after Next: ‘The Chinese Candidate’)
The Drive opened its story by writing that, “JetPack Aviation says it secured the first sale of its JB12 jetpack, to an unspecified Southeast Asian military.” Then it said that, “The company says that it expects to have fulfilled the order, which is for two JB12s at a cost of approximately $800,000, within the next six months.”
In the next paragraph it added that, “JackPack [sic] Aviation has not released any pictures or video footage of this particular model, which is described as a ‘classified’ design derived from the earlier JB11 that is specifically intended for military use.” Still later in the story The Drive writes that Jetpack is working “with an unspecified U.S. Navy SEAL team on the West Coast” and the U.S. Air Force on separate projects respectively.
All of that sounds fascinating and groundbreaking. Indeed, congratulations to JetPack for what it’s created. At the same time, we really cannot be sure what the reporting about military sales and working agreements actually means. That isn’t to say that any of it is wrong or overstating reality, just that it’s impossible to say one way or another what, if anything, is really going on.
For instance, The Drive article mentions that the sale JetPack made “to an unspecificed Southeast Asian military” is of the JB12 model of its jetpack. That, apparently, is a good thing, because when you look all the other models on the JetPack website, they don’t look like they remotely could be used for military purposes. They’re bulky and seem to be cumbersome. Plus, how would someone use a weapon if both his hands are occupied by the controls? How would he carry a weapon even if he wasn’t using it? How would he carry gear? You get the idea.
On top of this, how exactly will the Southeast Asian military force use its jetpacks? For actual operations? Or more as a novelty or for ceremonial purposes?
If I was someone in charge of military acquisition of equipment and all I had to go on is what we’re seeing right now, I don’t think I’d even consider anything JetPack is producing. Of course, I could be entirely wrong. Still, I’ve seen other innovative flying technology that looks a lot better.
Again, none of my questions and comments are to deny the veracity of what The Drive writes. Nor is it to scoff at what JetPack has accomplished. They are, once more, simply my way of showing that there remain a lot of questions about what is happening.
Then there is the Speeder that JetPack boasts about on its website. They call it, “The world’s first flying motorcycle!” and are taking orders for it (currently $380,000 per unit). It sounds like an amazing concept. Yet the only imagery I can find of it are computer-animated still images and video. (Perhaps I am missing something.) And remember how I said that the Speeder is currently at $380,000? “Currently” means as of 2019.
So, one final time, all of what The Drive reports about JetPack’s jetpacks (and the Speeder) sounds groundbreaking and as if the future has arrived. And JetPack really has achieved something by developing a jetpack that allows individual human flight. But the reality is it’s best to wait and see if military troops flying around with jetpacks in war is going to be reality. It might happen soon . . . or it might not.
Top Image: Excerpt of photo from JetPack’s Instagram account.