Motorcycles in Military

Today I will be talking about the usage of motorcycles in the military. As usual I will be drawing a comparison between the world's leading forces and that of our own armed forces. Motorcycles can be described as 'Rockets between your legs' (no pun intended) and could be one of the most dangerous means of transportation especially if you are getting shot at. So why use motorcycles in war zones ?, because it fulfills a niche.

Considering the advantages motorcycles provide to it's operators, it is safe to say it fills more than a niche role. Some of them include the ability to provide a quick mode of insertion and extraction, agility in urban conditions, capable of being air-dropped etc... The world's leading special forces as well as terrorists has found these characteristics of motorcycles of great tactical importance yet our armed forces consider them as pieces of equipment for literally 'Circus-Shows', for lack of a better word. If I wanted to see men doing heroic (read stupid) stunts on a motorcycle, I would rather go to a country fair. I think our men in uniform have a lot of better stuff to do like protecting the citizens and safeguarding the nation than practicing stunts on bikes.

You may argue that the venerable Bullet is being used for purposes of transportation. I have got news for you, the motorcycles of our armed forces are vintage to say the least. I have to say the central police forces that combat the Maoists have found better use of motorcycles as they have a greater understanding of it's tactical advantage. What is this tactical advantage that I am talking about ?, I will cite two examples to prove my point --

1. Insurgents in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq has used them for reconnaissance, target identification for IED (improvised explosive devices) attacks, assassinations of key opposition leaders (this technique is also used by Israel's Mossad) etc...

2. Special forces operating behind enemy lines use electric motorcycles as a means of stealthy transportation. One of the most notable instance of such an operation was the usage of motorcycles by DELTA force in Afghanistan to coordinate attacks with the Northern Alliance against the Taliban in the run up to of US invasion of Afghanistan.

Now if you dare to say that the Surya-Kirans of Indian Air force is also doing similar stunts, let me remind you that every time they perform the breath taking maneuvers they are also honing their piloting skills. Making such comparisons would be like comparing apples to oranges.

Maybe it is time for the Indian armed forces to truly embrace the tactical nature of motorcycles and provide our soldiers with another advantage in the battlefield.

[PS: I think the ParaSF will love to have them (silent lightweight electric ones, not the heavy loud ones) in their inventory for operating in the Thar desert.]