{"id":5455,"date":"2013-05-16T10:39:16","date_gmt":"2013-05-16T14:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=5455"},"modified":"2013-05-16T10:39:16","modified_gmt":"2013-05-16T14:39:16","slug":"polaris-defense-shows-off-non-pneumatic-tires-for-atv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=5455","title":{"rendered":"Polaris Defense Shows Off Non-Pneumatic Tires for ATV"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>We were walking by the Polaris Defense<\/a> booth at the SOFIC Show and saw some rebar sticking out of an ATV tire.\u00a0 Upon closer inspection, the tires were a see-though honeycomb design between the rim and tread that supported the weight of the vehicle.\u00a0 Polaris calls the tires the NPT for non-pneumatic tire.\u00a0 They aren’t run-flat, they are never-flat.<\/p>\n

The implications of this type of airless design are vast.\u00a0 Polaris Defense acquired Resilient Technologies, LL<\/a>, who had been researching and constructing never-flat tires for several years.\u00a0 According to Polaris, “The NPT is composed of a central polymeric web surrounded by a rubber tread band which allows continuous operation, even if up to 30 percent of the web is damaged.”<\/p>\n

“We have tested our NPTs over 5,000 miles with a .50 caliber bullet hole and the performance exceeded expectations.\u00a0 This capability gives our troops an edge when operating in rugged terrain that destroys tires by eliminating the mission impact associated with flats,” according to Polaris Defense General Manager Richard Haddad.<\/p>\n

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Resilient Technologies’ website has some videos of their product in action on HumVees and civilian trucks.\u00a0 There is also a close up of the tire being hit and surviving strikes by small arms fire.<\/p>\n