On-Board Vehicle Power for Mobile Forces

Wednesday, October 01 2008

Current threats on our military forces have created a tremendous requirement for mobility as it relates to mission specifications. The objectives of onboard vehicle power (OBVP) are to develop, demonstrate, and transition electronic technologies that enable lighter, physically smaller, more efficient, and more reliable electronics, which are easier to operate and maintain. This in turn will enable current and emerging electronic systems to increase performance, have improved physical characteristics, be more reliable, and require significantly fewer lifecycle resources. Further development of these programs will also maximize the advantages of increased DC supply voltage inherent in military vehicles such as the High-Mobility Multi - purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) for delivery of a power solution for multiple military platforms in excess of today’s available 10KW.

 

Sometimes OBVP is referred to as “under the hood power,” but whatever the vernacular, it simply refers to providing an alternative source of AC power on the battlefield that is generated from the vehicle itself, as opposed to hauling a large, heavy diesel generator around on a trailer. What’s the big deal with this concept? Well, the military has been hauling generators around for decades, and has done it quite successfully. When the enemy was confronted at well-defined lines and occupied a specific theater of operation, that may have worked, but even then, it was just barely adequate enough to accomplish the mission.

 

So what’s changed? The truth is that the U.S. has come through a long dormant period — nearly 30 years following the end of the Cold War — in which we as a nation got complacent while the events in the world were changing rapidly around us. The events of 9/11 and in Iraq were a shock and a wake-up call. Since that time, there has been a major shift in military strategy. The primary emphasis is no longer on watching our borders for approaching missiles or bombers. We now are faced with a new enemy — terrorists who hide in the dark, and pop up anywhere and everywhere on a global basis.