If you hadn't heard, Kawasaki is a very large company. And as a very large company, its products are varied. No, it doesn't just make sick-AF supercharged motorcycles that Tom Cruise rides around on.
But even though we at RideApart have talked about its oddities before, i.e. its H2R-powered drone helicopter, we were stunned when we found the following two patents. Like, we actually asked ourselves, "What the hell is Kawasaki planning?"
The twin patents, filed on the same day, relate to an unmanned drone system where a foldable UAV is launched out of the back of a box truck. And if that sounds like something out of some Tom Cruise movie, it's because I think it's from a Tom Cruise movie. It could also be out of some other spy movie, but I can firmly say I feel like I've seen this in theaters before. But again, this all begs the question, what the hell is Kawasaki planning?
Is this a Skynet situation or is Team Green planning on taking over the world?
The first of the two patents relates to the drone itself which, like other military-style drones, features a small airplane-shaped drone with a single propeller at the front and a four-winged rear tail. But unlike other drones, the main wings swivel atop the main fuselage so that it can be stored in a thinner compartment, i.e. a box truck. Likewise, those rear stabilizer wings fold downward, again, so it can be easily fit inside something.
That's where the second patent comes in.
The patent is titled "Flight Vehicle Transport Cart, Flight Vehicle Transport System, Container, and Flight Vehicle Transport Method" and shows off a host of drawings, including a cart system to launch the drone, a rail system to be embedded into a truck's floor, and drawings of the drone within a box truck.
It gives "CIA-operated fast-attack drone delivery." Again, something out of a Bond or Mission Impossible flick.
According to the second patent's abstract, "This flight vehicle transport cart is a transport cart for carrying a flight vehicle, and is provided with a base that supports the flight vehicle, and at least one leg provided on the base. The leg includes a leg body connected to the base, a wheel attached to the leg body, and a movable structure for allowing the leg body to be moved between a stowed state, where the wheel is closest to the base in an up-down direction of the transport cart, and a deployed state, where the wheel is separated downward away from the base compared to the stowed state."
The flight vehicle is the aforementioned drone, which states in its patent "Provided is an unmanned aircraft which is compact in a stored state." Hello, truck launch.
As for what the hell Kawasaki is patenting a truck-launched drone, I've got nothing but guesses. And none of them relate to the company's sportbikes, off-roaders, ATVs, UTVs, or jet skis. My mind races toward pulp fiction novels and Hollywood. Kawasaki, however, is a defense contractor, having built fighters, long-range planes, helicopters, and submarines. But drones aren't in the company's repertoire at the moment, though that could be changing.
So what do you think? Is Kawasaki planning on going full Doctor Evil? Or is the company working on a secret CIA-funded black ops project? Let us know in the comments below.
