French armed forces trial elevated zapata flying platform

French special forces will begin testing an individual air-mobility platform developed by former world jet ski champion Franky Zapata’s company, minister of the armed forces Florence Parly revealed at the 2021 Defense Innovation Forum.

Parly explained that the decision was made after Zapata Industries made structural changes in Flyboard Air’s design to “improve the acoustic discretion, the autonomy of the Flyboard and to optimize the mass of its engine.”

“Soon, the special forces will experiment with an individual flying platform, piloted, derived from the Flyboard-R {Air}, leaving the pilot’s feet and hands free. I am waiting to see that,” French news outlet Zone Militaire quoted her as saying.