SHAH ALAM: The Ordnance Department have issued three separate quotation notices for the supply of 15 e-bikes or 45 in total for the Army for use in the northern peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak. The notice is published on Eperolehan, today and closes on March 19.
Unfortunately, the public portion did not specify whether the e-bikes are electric motorcycles or electrified bicycles. Electrified bicycles maybe is perfect for an urban setting but these ebikes being sought are to be used in border areas. Malaysian Defence reach out to industry sources and was told however that these would be all terrain electric motorcycles.
The electric motorcycles would be more stealthy as they make less noise and pollution compared to petrol powered scramblers currently operated by the Army. The service uses the scramblers in a variety roles from utility, reconnaissance and messaging.
However as they are short legged as they are powered by batteries. Charging points are not easily available along the border areas. Some of the border posts operated by the Army are so remote they also rely on generator sets for their electricity. Nonetheless the Army has been asked to experiment with e-bikes as the police is also buying similar machines soon.
Apart from the e-bikes, three separate quotation notices were also issued for night vision googles also for the units in northern peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak. Each will be getting six NVGs. As with the e-bikes, the public portion of the notices did not have much details on them.
The numbers being sought might be a head scratcher but it is on par for the Army to buy 18 NVGs for units at borders which has hundreds of soldiers on operations. Unlike the e-bikes, which is basically an experiment, NVGs are a well known and much needed equipment. The latest helmets for the Army are equipped with mountings to fix NVGs though most are not issued with them.
— Malaysian Defence
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The good news is that unlike scramblers they can’t be heard a mile away. The problem with scramblers and ATVs is they’re loud.
Hundreds of border troopers but only 18 new NVG at a time, next order time the last batch 9 units KO ady…. sigh
Meanwhile money spent to do experiment, jut cuz PDRM also uses them. But then PDRM every nite can go back station to recharge, how about TDM operational units. Bring pasar malam genset along? Could have used that money to buy more NVGs.
Not only the bikes but the batteries of NGVs, radios, GPSs, SATCOM, laptops/tablets and other things have to be charged. For that matter so do do the batteries on MANPADS and other things.
Us buying a small batch of NGVs is part and parcel of how we do things. Dribs and drabs; a bit but never enough of anything. That’s what happens when we have a apathetic view of fence and the need to address a long list of requirements with insufficient funding and without prioritisation. The result is the MAF we have now; one whose capabilities are uneven to say the least.
This E Bike reeks of greenies ministers decision rather than from TDM. Yes we can justify that it has tactical benefits compared to a scrambler but even for consumers on the road there is a lot of drawbacks for EV vs ICE whatmore something that goes offroad & used by the military?
US Army only started trialing EV ‘hummvies’ and even that has limited mileage, goes back to base to recharge every nite, & questionable battery durability if the vehicle is shotup or IED.
EV Bikes for the army? Whose brilliant idea is this? Why not get a hydrogen powered truck too? There are reason, logic and common sense. Apparently these aren’t the best times to apply these to join the Green Energy bandwagon.
Probably the next innovative thing on the cards for the army is laying down miles of cables to the nearest TNB electric pylons throughout the country to recharge our EV Ute’s, E-bikes and trucks!