All Electric Combat Vehicles Kill Efficiently
The Department of Defense gets its green on with the All Electric Combat Vehicle (AECV).
Defense Tech Briefs reports that current research is focusing on developing battery capacity that can power a variety of military vehicles. Big DoD research contracts will help push forward vehicle and battery technology. Battery design is also moving forward for DoD hybrid electric vehicles as part of future combat and tactical platforms.
Unlike present vehicle designs, the energy storage requirements for military vehicles are much greater than those for a Prius. In military vehicles, energy storage is required for silent watch and silent mobility applications for a variety of vehicle sizes. Sometimes vehicle operations have to be conducted independently of an internal combustion power source. Both high power and high energy capacity are critical for mission implementation and must be delivered from the battery pack. Imagine moving an up-armored personnel carrier with just a stack of D-cells. Also required are battery cooling (a problem in the early electric Tesla roadsters) and electronic controls. When those problems are solved, add in special requirements for space and weight.