Kawasaki's Ninja H2R-Powered Unmanned Drone Could Make Sea Deliveries

Remember the Kawasaki K-Racer X2? If you need a refresher, it's the latest evolution of Kawasaki Heavy Industry's long-running vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) project.

Introduced earlier in 2024, a key point of interest to RideApart readers is its powerplant, which is a Kawasaki H2R engine. That's right; it's an H2R that flies (well, sort of).

That was way back at the beginning of 2024, though. Now that it's October, what's been going on in K-Racer X2-world? The H2R-powered machine just made an appearance at the Japan Aerospace Exhibition 2024 earlier in October 2024, where Kawasaki concentrated on its potential maritime applications.

In earlier presentations, Kawasaki talked about its potential usefulness for delivering supplies to remote areas, particularly after disasters. But there's clearly more than one way this VTOL could prove useful in the future.

If you need a refresher, here's the test video that Kawasaki posted earlier this year. Be sure to unmute it so you can hear the K-Racer X2 in operation.

Kawasaki's goals for the K-Racer X2 include a flight range of at least 100 kilometers (about 62 miles), capability of operation in areas with altitudes up to 3,000 meters above sea level, and maximum payload capacity of up to 200 kilograms (or just under 441 pounds).

Sadly, this max payload goal means we won't ever see the H2R-engined K-Racer X2 carry a crated H2R anywhere (claimed curb weight is 476.3 pounds, which is slightly over the max goal). We hate to break up your Top Gun 3: Top Gunnier daydreams like that, but unfortunately, the math doesn't quite work in this case. 

Still, Kawasaki has been running demonstrations and tests using the K-Racer X2 to transport supplies from a pier to the deck of a moored vessel at JMSDF Yokosuka Base earlier in the year. There's also talk about enhancing sensor and communication capabilities on the K-Racer X2 as potential future evolutions to increase its usefulness for defense applications. 

After watching (and listening) to the video of the K-Racer X2 in action again, though, one thing remains clear: It's absolutely not meant for stealth. The H2R's distinctive sound, even though it's not piped through the exhaust system found on what's easily one of the most bonkers production motorcycles available today, doesn't really lend itself to sneaking up on anybody.

People keep promising flying motorcycles, but it looks like the K-Racer X2 is the closest thing to reality at the moment.