Military Uses 'Bat-Hook' To Tap Power From Lines

Zothecula writes "As soldiers are fitted out with more and more electrical sytems to extend their capabilities, they become increasingly dependent on the power needed to run them. Since soldiers in the field don't always have ready access to an electrical outlet when they need to top up the batteries, the US Air Force has developed a device that taps directly into the electricity flowing through overhead power lines ... a kind of bat-hook for real-life superheroes."

Re:Now..

[jittles]

Go to South America. Poor people use them in places like Venezuela and Argentina to steal power for their shanty towns. It's quite common and not a new idea at all. Just don't get caught!

Less weird than it sounds

[Infonaut]

Most Air Force critters aren't pilots. Plus, Air Force Para-Rescue as well as Forward Air Controllers are specialized grunts who happen to work for the Air Force. The military is full of weird situations like this. For example, the Army operates 119 vessels [defensenews.com] (we're not talking about inflatable rafts here).

Re:Yeah right.

[pixelpusher220]

I'm not disagreeing your statement. But I don't think they would have done it if we didn't have the overwhelming military superiority we had over Iraq.

Re:Now..

[TheCarp]

People have done it here too... we call it... stealing power.

Yes, you can steal power from lines, you can even do it via induction.

Also... inverter? You only use an inverter to go from DC to AC. It was probably a small power transformer.

-Steve

Re:DO NOT try this at home folks

[wowbagger]

Try this at home, and you might just be a superhero:

THE FLASH

(at least briefly).

Seriously: DO NOT TRY THIS!

Even residential lines are many tens of thousands of volts, and will flash-fry you!