Moller, Moller, Molller . . .

Sigh. On one hand, you have to give the brains behind Moller Skycar (guess who) credit for not giving up. On the other hand, enough already. The dream of personalized airborne transportation is a fund-raising MacGuffin. The company’s latest salvo in the BS wars: Moller Skycar Goes to War! Or, as the press release puts it, “Moller is pleased to announce today that its Skycar technology has gained ground within the military for its use in high-tech, demanding battlefield applications like those in Afghanistan.” Apparently, one Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas, 304th SB, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, recently issued white paper entitled “Winning an Asymmetric War with Skycars.” Google loves the story, but offers-up no such report or background on Col. Thomas. Still the press release, quotes from the heretofore unknown document:

Poor and unimproved roads and rugged terrain severely limit the use of the MRAP. The Moller Skycar® provides a more cost effective, highly maneuverable, lethal and safe platform for the 21st century soldier to dominate and win in an Asymmetric Warfare Environment. The Skycar® will become the MRAP vehicle of Afghanistan. The ability to safely and rapidly employ soldiers on the battlefield enables us to exercise economy of force on the battlefield, doing more with fewer soldiers.

I’m no military expert, but I can’t see how a [theoretical] Skycar is going to do much of anything for soldiers on the ground, given that it’s a [theoretical] four passenger vehicle. (Although the company claims “the Skycar technology has the ability to be both scaled up to a six passenger, M600, or scaled down to a one passenger, M100. This allows a cost efficient vehicle size to accommodate a variety of military, paramilitary, and commercial transport missions.”) If you want rapid deployment, what about an V-22 Osprey? Oh wait . . .