Kalashnikov, the name associated with probably the most famous assault rifles of all time, the AK-47, will be manufacturing electric motorcycles, the first 50 of which will be used by the Moscow Police at next year's FIFA World Cup. The Kalashnikov Group presented its new bikes at the Army 2017 - International Military - Technical Forum in Russia last month. So far, details are sketchy about the bikes, but the police version of the new electric bikes is supposed to have a range of over 150 km.
A military variant of the electric motorcycle is also being developed
The new electric motorcycle is available in an enduro style model for the military and a supermoto-style bike for urban police forces. The military version sports a camouflage paint scheme and gun rack on the handlebars. The bikes are being built by Russian motorcycle manufacturer IZH, a subsidiary of Kalashnikov, which has a history of motorcycle production dating back to 1928.
The side case possibly houses a big battery which powers the motorcycle
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A video on the Kalashnikov website showcases the military version of the bike, but gives little detail about the technical specifications and cycle parts. The footage also shows a man dressed in military fatigues unplugging the charging cable and stuffing it into a side-case, which appears to house a large-sized battery. Electric motorcycles will have the stealth and versatility to allow troops to quietly traverse across difficult terrain and without the noise of an internal combustion engine. The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is also developing an electric all-terrain motorcycle for US troops, called the SilentHawk. The SilentHawk uses a hybrid engine, but little is known so far about the powertrain and technology of the Kalashnikov electric bike.
