DailyTech - BAE to Offer Hybrid Electric Vehicle to Replace Army's Bradley Armored Personnel Carrier

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Auto BAE to Offer Hybrid Electric Vehicle to Replace Army's Bradley Armored Personnel Carrier
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - July 27, 2010 10:30 AM

20 comment(s) - last by Thuban.. on Jul 28 at 10:06 PM

BAE thinks hybrid is way to go for future military vehicles

A few years ago, hybrid technology was rare in passenger vehicles cruising the streets of the U.S. and other countries. Today, hybrids have more of a presence in the marketplace and every major auto manufacturer either has a production hybrid on the road or has one in development.

With hybrid technology being common and familiar today, several government contractors are set to offer military vehicle designs that use hybrid propulsion systems.

DefenseNews reports that BAE Systems is set to offer the U.S. Army Ground Combat Vehicle program a hybrid electric drive vehicle platform. BAE and Northrop Grumman are working on the vehicle development program together and the first iteration of the vehicle will be an infantry fighting vehicle to replace the existing Bradley armored vehicle.

BAE thinks that a hybrid system will be the vehicle's critical enabling technology. Not only will the hybrid system save on fuel and increase the power available on-board and off-board, the system will reduce the number of moving parts on the vehicle making it more reliable and easier to service and maintain. The hybrid system also frees up four tons of weight and improves vehicle performance enabling it to get out of dangerous situations faster. That weight reduction can be directly allocated to additional armor or weapons systems.

The core hybrid vehicle platform from BAE is expected to tip the scales at 53 tons and meet the mobility requirements of the Army at that weight. The vehicle platform is designed to still meet mobility requirements of the Army at 75 tons. That extra weight range allows the vehicle to evolve as the needs and demands of the Army change.

The vehicle BAE is working on will also have a manned turret for maximum situational awareness.

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Type of Hybrid Drive

By Jedi2155 on 7/27/2010 11:43:25 AM , Rating: 2

I wonder how they managed to achieve a 4 ton weight reduction and the type of drive train setup. Typically hybrids add in a ton of weight due to the size/weight of the battery I'm guessing they just went with a really small battery and did an "assist mode"

RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By Smilin on 7/27/2010 11:47:18 AM , Rating: 3

My wild assed guess:

Heavy vehicles need high torque to overcome inertia for acceleration but are otherwise unremarkable once moving. Electric engines that provide such high torque are going to be far lighter than their ICE counterparts. Plus electrics won't require a transmission (which is not a trivial part on a 50+ ton vehicle)

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RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By Chillin1248 on 7/27/2010 6:13:40 PM , Rating: 2

The problem with heavy military vehicles like tanks is that they mostly have a start-stop routine, where they move for several meters then stop to cover. And even when traveling they have to constantly slow down to maneuver around rough terrain. It is this kind of maneuver doctrine which uses up most of the fuel.

I think one of the major advantages of the hybrid design on armored vehicles is that now you have the batteries in addition to the engine for armor, similar to the idea of the Russian Typhoon submarine where the batteries form an armor element sandwiched between the first and second hulls. This is not the first use of the idea, as several tanks use the diesel fuel as part of the armor since diesel is effective against HEAT type weapons.

In addition it may allow for short periods of "silent running", where the vehicle will operate solely on battery power; which will allow it to move into firing positions silently and the major source of noise would be in fact the tracks themselves in motion.

As it stands mony advanced heavy armored vehicles have a second generator to create power when the vehicle is stationary for long periods of time, these create minor levels of noise and sip gas in comparison to the main engines.

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Chillin

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RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By Thuban on 7/28/2010 10:06:33 PM , Rating: 2

I don't remember where I read this but apparently a city discovered a bonus in money saving when they switch from diesel to hybrid bus. It turned out that with ICE, there's a lot of shock when accelerating and that's responsible for most of the wear and tear. With the hybrid,the bus uses the electric engine to get going and the diesel take over once it up to speed. Since the buses do a lot of stop and go, it added a lot of life to parts that tend to wear out previously. After several years, they discovered that they had saved several millions of dollar in fleet maintenance.

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RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By Amiga500 on 7/27/2010 11:52:21 AM , Rating: 2

No doubt it is a diesel-electric based system.

Gearbox weight is saved. As are driveshafts. Generator weight will increase, as will the inclusion of the driving electric motors. Additional benefits include the decoupling of engine to final drive, allowing (1) more optimal placement of the engine for cooling - reducing piping and radiator weight & (2) Optimising the engine speed for electric production, and not needing torque through a large rev range.

Obviously from what BAe are saying, the trade-off is significantly in favour of the diesel-electric drivetrain.

As you say, "assist-mode" is more than likely what it is when considering the battery size.

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RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By bhieb on 7/27/2010 1:02:23 PM , Rating: 2

So you're thinking more like a locomotive setup. That makes more sense than the traditional hybrid one thinks of such as a prius.

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RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By Amiga500 on 7/27/2010 1:43:57 PM , Rating: 1

Yeap.

Its a similar system on the M1 I believe, apart from it being a turbine rather than reciprocating engine powering the electric generator.

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RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By soydios on 7/27/2010 3:05:35 PM , Rating: 2

The M1 Abrams has a 4-speed-foward/2-speed-reverse transmission, not electric drive.

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RE: Type of Hybrid Drive

By Amiga500 on 7/27/2010 5:09:14 PM , Rating: 2

I stand corrected. :-)

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Correct name, please

By Chernobyl68 on 7/27/2010 12:14:35 PM , Rating: 1

The M2 Bradley is an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, not an Armored Personnel Carrier.

RE: Correct name, please

By gamerk2 on 7/27/2010 4:40:22 PM , Rating: 2

Same thing; APC is a class of vehicle, which the M2 Bradley is a part of. "IFV" was nothing more then a moniker to spruce up the name to get more congressional funding.

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RE: Correct name, please

By Chernobyl68 on 7/27/2010 5:49:45 PM , Rating: 2

Bradley's have more offense (ie, turreted gun) than an M113 APC, hence the name change.

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RE: Correct name, please

By Chillin1248 on 7/27/2010 6:26:42 PM , Rating: 2

The name change comes just as much from the tactical change in the vehicle usage.

The term "IFV" applies to a doctrine in where the vehicle is not just a battle taxi but it is meant to remain in support of infantry after they dismounted; thus freeing up heavier armored units or specialized support vehicles that would otherwise have to support the infantry.

"IFV" designated vehicles do not always need to carry heavy offensive armament. They can also be vehicles designed to be local mobile command centers, foward ambulances, etc. The crucial part is a vehicle that is designated to support and stick with the infantry and not scamper away after unloading them. Usually these vehicles indeed do carry an heavy offensive armament, but more important is their basic survivability which is often superior to APC's.

An example this would be the Israeli 'Nakpadon' which while lightly armed with only light machine guns is heavily armored and considered a 'IFV'.

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Chillin

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RE: Correct name, please

By afkrotch on 7/27/2010 11:43:44 PM , Rating: 2

I've never understood what falls under IFV, as the Stryker is just called an APC. My only guess is the fact that it's armaments can be the same as that of a hummer and it's more lightly armored than the Bradley.

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RE: Correct name, please

By Chernobyl68 on 7/28/2010 1:20:07 PM , Rating: 2

According to wikipedia the Stryker is an ICV, Infantry Carrier Vehicle. Of course it has many variants:
ICV, RV, MGS, MC, CV, FSV, ESV, MEV, ATGM, and NBC RV...but it is not called an APC.

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RE: Correct name, please

By monkeyman1140 on 7/28/2010 5:46:05 PM , Rating: 2

More offense at the expense of range and personnel. The bradley was supposed to hold 10 soldiers, then 8, and then ended up as limited to 5 as design changes came in, costs ran over and the platform became a confusing mess of options.

The enemy has found that the Bradley is a perfect vehicle for inflicting casualties, as a tank vs. a bradley is no contest. Putting a lightly armored vehicle out in front just because it has a 30mm cannon on top is bad strategy.

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Makes sense

By quiksilvr on 7/27/2010 11:09:56 AM , Rating: 2

You don't want to run out of fuel when you're trying to get out of a hot area.

Another benefit will be...

By DanNeely on 7/27/2010 11:53:35 AM , Rating: 2

... improved acoustic stealth. The US Army's had a bit of a mismatch on this since the M1 came out because it's turbine made the tank quieter than all their lighter vehicles which used diesel engines. If hybrid/electric/hydrogen/etc drivetrains ever get out of the R&D lab and into deployment we'll finally have recon vehicles that can sneak better than the heavy hitters again.

Makes it easier to implement the new Laser Tech

By mlmiller1 on 7/27/2010 2:53:19 PM , Rating: 2

New solid state Laser weapons need ample electricity to drive them. Now when they retrofit these 5-10 years from now, the power source is right there waiting.