Paratroopers are riding e-bikes to boost their mobility and ability to survive on the battlefield.
Soldiers from The 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment, Anti Tanks Platoon withdraw from a position using quad bikes and E-Bikes.
Soldiers from The 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment, Anti Tank Platoon firing the Javelin Missile System or The New Light Anti-armour Weapon.
A Soldier from The 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment, Anti Tanks Platoon with the Javelin Missile System or The New Light Anti-armour Weapon.
Soldiers from The 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment firing the grenade machine gun.
Soldiers from 3rd Battalion Princesses Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, firing a grenade machine gun alongside soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment.
Soldiers from The 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment operating a grenade machine gun.
An e-biker gang of soldiers armed with anti-tank missiles has been roaming the Canadian prairie to enable them to hit the enemy further away and faster.
On Exercise Rhino Bizz, the Anti-Tank Platoon (ATk Pl) of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) is trialling a fast-moving and heavy hitting strike force mounted on Sting e-bikes.
The paratroopers have been riding out to strike the enemy further away from friendly forces. After hitting their targets, the soldiers can quickly move away before the enemy can fire back, improving their ability to survive and strike again.
A moving target is harder to hit
During a 96-hour simulated battle, drones and electronic warfare sensors searched the vast plains of British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) to find targets for ATk Pl. The troops moved in teams of four on e-bikes, supported by a quad bike and trailer carrying missiles and batteries.
ATk Pl fired potent and precise Javelin missiles to destroy armoured vehicles; used Anti-Structures Munitions to blast through walls to allow Canadian infantry to assault a village; and then provided supporting fire from Grenade Machine Guns moved into position by quads.
"What e-bikes give us is manoeuvrability and survivability, growing the area that we can engage the enemy in."
Colour Sergeant Shaun Nicholls, ATk Pl second-in-command, said: “What e-bikes give us is manoeuvrability and survivability, growing the area that we can engage the enemy in.
“As paratroopers, we are light infantry and moving on foot is how we traditionally operate – using e-bikes has given us so much more mobility. We can now go further and faster to hit the enemy further away from our own positions.”
Paratroopers always improving themselves
A soldier from the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, Anti-Tank Platoon transits across the prairie on an e-bike.
A soldier from the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, Anti-Tank Platoon transits across the prairie on a quad bike transporting the Javelin Missile System along side e-bikes.
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, Anti-Tank Platoon on an e-bike during Exercise Rhino Bizz.
ATk Pl have been using e-bikes for a year, building their riding skills and developing tactics. Working with the RAF, e-bikes have been parachuted to prove that they can dropped into action alongside paratroopers. BATUS has provided a final testing ground, offering space and freedom to ride further and integrate with the sensors that find their targets.
Colour Sergeant Nicholls said: “We’re trailblazing the use of e-bikes for the Army, and the guys are keen to learn new skills and develop how we fight. Paratroopers have a real innovative spirit – we want to be the best soldiers, and we know we must change how we operate to keep that edge.”
"Paratroopers have a real innovative spirit – we want to be the best soldiers, and we know we must change how we operate to keep that edge."
Exercise Rhino Bizz saw 16 Air Assault Brigade join forces with Canadian soldiers to show how they would ‘fight tonight’ on a battlefield dominated by drones and electronic warfare. Troops tested the recce-strike concept of fighting, bringing together surveillance, reconnaissance and strike platforms in an AI-enabled network able to identify and destroy targets faster and further.
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