Photo: AM General
For what it’s worth, the electric drivetrain revolution has been restricted for now to the civilian car world, where companies are racing to keep themselves relevant in the greener future we’re planning. But given the proportions the thing got over the past few years, it is only a matter of time until electricity becomes the power source for airplanes, helicopters, boats and, ultimately, all kinds of military hardware.
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, which we all know as the Humvee, has always been a gas guzzler, because the military couldn’t care less about releasing harmful emissions while shooting and blowing stuff up.
Massive ICE engines are what always made the Humvees tick, and the average 8 miles per gallon (almost 30 liters per kilometer) they returned have never been a problem for the top brass.
But as the people of our planet are getting ready to repair the harm they’ve done to the place over the past century, and taking into account dwindling resources, it was probably only a matter of time until Humvees become, at least in part, electric too.
One of the first steps in that direction was announced earlier this month by the company behind the machine, AM General. Together with another defense company, QinetiQ, AM said it will begin accelerating “development of electrification technologies for military vehicles.”
More to the point, the two are planning to develop a Humvee concept that will use a hybrid electric drivetrain. If that’s successful, the companies will move to make the tech available for other military machines as well.
No exact details on the system are available, but AM General says the QinetiQ’s hybrid-electric drive system to be used should provide up to 30 percent less fuel consumption compared to usual, ICE vehicles, but also provide increased operational range.
At the time of writing, there is no physical prototype of the hybrid Humvee, with only VR models being created. There is no word on when the research conducted virtually will translate into a real-world build.
Massive ICE engines are what always made the Humvees tick, and the average 8 miles per gallon (almost 30 liters per kilometer) they returned have never been a problem for the top brass.
But as the people of our planet are getting ready to repair the harm they’ve done to the place over the past century, and taking into account dwindling resources, it was probably only a matter of time until Humvees become, at least in part, electric too.
One of the first steps in that direction was announced earlier this month by the company behind the machine, AM General. Together with another defense company, QinetiQ, AM said it will begin accelerating “development of electrification technologies for military vehicles.”
More to the point, the two are planning to develop a Humvee concept that will use a hybrid electric drivetrain. If that’s successful, the companies will move to make the tech available for other military machines as well.
No exact details on the system are available, but AM General says the QinetiQ’s hybrid-electric drive system to be used should provide up to 30 percent less fuel consumption compared to usual, ICE vehicles, but also provide increased operational range.
At the time of writing, there is no physical prototype of the hybrid Humvee, with only VR models being created. There is no word on when the research conducted virtually will translate into a real-world build.
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