French Soldiers Can Soon Fly And Attack The Enemy On This Hoverboard

French President Emmanuel Macron was feeling proud when he posted a video on Twitter showing the French army’s recent accomplishment. Most people who had the opportunity to witness the military’s demonstration at the National Day Parade would be impressed. After all, not every day, you get to see a “Flying Soldier.”

On July 14, Champs Elysees Avenue in Paris was chosen as the location for the celebrations of Bastille Day, a national day of French to commemorate the Bastille’s storming in 1789, a French Revolution’s symbol.

The highlight of the event was when a soldier flew on a hoverboard powered by a turbine engine with a gun in his hand. The video shows that the flight went on smoothly.

The scene was impressive, marking the French military’s statement that their war prowess is now expanded to the air as well. Just imagine a troop of flying soldiers heading towards the enemy, erasing the line between reality and sci-fi will not be too far in the future anymore.

The Inventor

The hoverboard was created by French inventor Frank Zapata. Interestingly, Zapata was also the one to demonstrate the flight. He is now known as the “Flying soldier.”

The French military gave a grant of $1.47 million to Zapata for the development of an aeronautical micro-jet engine. The hoverboard can now be used for both assault as well as logistical purposes.

The Hoverboard

This is not the first time for Zapata to carry out such a demonstration. The Flyboard Air, a creation of his company, is a personal Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicle which is said to be a product made from “experience in hydro flight.”

Flying demonstrations have always been conducted in a controlled environment with restricted figures. However, Zapata said that the Flyboard Air’s engines could bring the flyer to up to 3,000 meters into the sky at a maximum speed of 200kmph for a flight time of 30 minutes. At the moment, the restricted figures for testing have been 6 minutes, 140kmph, and 150 meters.

Of course, this is not the only VTOL on the market, and Zapata’s company is not the only one to work on such a vehicle. Dubai Police Force has also started their training on HoverSurf, a hoverbike. The vehicles will soon be added to their fleet of transportation.