Photo: AM General
October 11 is the last day of this year's Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) event held in Washington, but the amount of exciting military gear shown there will probably keep us talking for several more days. Today's treat: an electrified Humvee.
The military Humvee has been around since the early 1980s, being produced by a company called AM General as a ground soldier's all-rounder: transport vehicle, off-road truck, weapons platform, you name it.
The four-wheel drive machine has distinguished itself in most of our world's modern wars, but also made a name for itself as a real gas guzzler. I mean, when going into war, the last thing a vehicle should care about is protecting the environment.
At least that was the military's thinking back then, but that somewhat changed during our time. Fueled by the desire to cut down on fuel consumption as a means to cut costs (and, as a side effect, release less harmful emissions), the American military is currently on the lookout for alternative means of propulsion.
Enter the Humvee Charge, AM General's take at electrifying the vehicle in response to the new requirements.
The vehicle is your usual modern-day Humvee, with a big bad diesel engine under the hood. But working in conjunction with it there is now a hybrid electric drive system produced by a company called QinetiQ.
AM General does not give us the exact specifications of the system, but we do know it comprises a battery pack and an electric motor. When used in combination with the diesel, these new pieces of hardware should allow for as much as 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption.
But that's not all the thing can do. The battery pack (which can be charged either from a plug or from the truck's ICE itself) has also been designed in such a way as to act as a power source for devices and gear that need to be charged with 24V DC, 110V AC, and 208V three-phase AC power.
When on the move, the Humvee Charge will be able to travel for longer (unclear how much the range has increased), go over even more challenging terrain, and accelerate faster (again, no numbers are provided).
The ability soldiers will probably appreciate the most in this new incarnation of the Humvee is the truck's silent operating mode. When the electric drive is engaged, the truck can have all of its systems up and running while making little to no noise, and that can prove invaluable as troops chase after the enemy.
AM General says that for the moment the Humvee Charge is nothing more than a concept, but it also is the "first step of a highly ambitious program" to further develop the technology. No exact timetable on when we should expect something tangible is given.
The four-wheel drive machine has distinguished itself in most of our world's modern wars, but also made a name for itself as a real gas guzzler. I mean, when going into war, the last thing a vehicle should care about is protecting the environment.
At least that was the military's thinking back then, but that somewhat changed during our time. Fueled by the desire to cut down on fuel consumption as a means to cut costs (and, as a side effect, release less harmful emissions), the American military is currently on the lookout for alternative means of propulsion.
Enter the Humvee Charge, AM General's take at electrifying the vehicle in response to the new requirements.
The vehicle is your usual modern-day Humvee, with a big bad diesel engine under the hood. But working in conjunction with it there is now a hybrid electric drive system produced by a company called QinetiQ.
AM General does not give us the exact specifications of the system, but we do know it comprises a battery pack and an electric motor. When used in combination with the diesel, these new pieces of hardware should allow for as much as 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption.
But that's not all the thing can do. The battery pack (which can be charged either from a plug or from the truck's ICE itself) has also been designed in such a way as to act as a power source for devices and gear that need to be charged with 24V DC, 110V AC, and 208V three-phase AC power.
When on the move, the Humvee Charge will be able to travel for longer (unclear how much the range has increased), go over even more challenging terrain, and accelerate faster (again, no numbers are provided).
The ability soldiers will probably appreciate the most in this new incarnation of the Humvee is the truck's silent operating mode. When the electric drive is engaged, the truck can have all of its systems up and running while making little to no noise, and that can prove invaluable as troops chase after the enemy.
AM General says that for the moment the Humvee Charge is nothing more than a concept, but it also is the "first step of a highly ambitious program" to further develop the technology. No exact timetable on when we should expect something tangible is given.
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