Hybrids Prove to be All They Can Be by Joining the Army

The army outfitted its new fleet of Manned Ground Vehicles (MGVs) with hybrid electric motors as part of its 15 Future Combat Systems Brigade Combat Teams (FCS BCTs). The new MGVs will provide Soldiers with enhanced survivability, increased speed and mobility, new network-based capabilities, and more modern, modular technology.

The new hybrid propulsion systems will power all of the electric equipment necessary for the modern FCS BCTs. The gas savings are ancillary benefits as far as the army is concerned.

The first use of the hybrid electric drive technology will be in the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C), slated to begin initial production in 2008.

The NLOS-C, designed and built by BAE, in partnership with General Dynamics Land Systems, is a fully automated, 155 millimeter self-propelled howitzer.

"The MGV drive train is unique," said Colonel Bryan McVeigh, product manager for MGV systems integration. "The traditional engine has been de-coupled from the drive train architecture and is designed only to recharge the energy storage system and power the vehicular systems.

"The hybrid drive system alone," he added, "literally will move the vehicle. This is a new and better way of moving across the battlefield."

The defense contractor, BAE, said this is the first evaluation of the complete Manned Ground Vehicles system consisting of the engine, generator, generator dissipater controller, traction drive system, energy storage system, and cooling subsystem.

"Its advanced energy storage, electric traction drive, power generation, regenerative braking, and integrated power management technology all serve to provide our warfighter's increased performance and unprecedented flexibility," said Hugo Croft, VP of Future Combat Systems and Advanced Programs at BAE.

Source: Army Unveils First Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System for New Combat Vehicles and U.S. Army going hybrid | Inside Greentech