Airless Humvee Tyre Under Development
The Pentagon has invested US$11 million towards the development of a tyre that will withstand damage from bullets or shrapnel. The US military body is supplying funds to Resilient Technologies, who is in the process of developing a tyre filled with compressed polymers as opposed to compressed air.
While this is not an entirely new concept, the company’s chief technology officer, Ali Manesh, believes that Resilient Technologies have developed ways to overcome the difficulties commonly associated with airless tyres. He claims that the tension of the polymer plastic provides strength, allowing the tyres to function as an air-filled tyre would, while the problem of heat build up during operation is not a problem for Resilient’s tyre.