ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – For Soldiers conducting reconnaissance or surveillance operations, moving and functioning undetected are crucial for mission success. “Silence gets us closer to the enemy and brings our firepower closer to the fight”, said Lt Gen. Robert A. Rasch, Jr., Director of the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO).
Engine startup, emission noise, or running out of traditional battery power reveal Soldiers’ locations and puts their lives and missions at risk.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) are “exposing the art of the possible” Lt. Gen. Rasch explained on February 6th at RCCTO’s Tactical Hybrid Electric Vehicle (THEV) Demonstration Day held at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center (ATC) Automotive Technology Evaluation Facility (ATEF).
Three prototype vehicles provided to RCCTO from three different vendors were on display. Guests were briefed with a vehicle overview followed by an opportunity to drive the vehicles around ATEF’s four-and-a-half mile, high-speed test track.
As the Army transitions to HEV, the RCCTO is developing requirements for these vehicles, and ATC is fulfilling its mission to test them.
“The importance of prototyping is to get Soldier input early in the process and to make sure the vehicles are safe. That’s why we bring these vehicles to ATC – to use their test capabilities and get the safety release so we can bring it to the Soldiers”, said Lt. Gen. Rasch.
Despite new challenges developing and testing HEVs, they offer critical benefits to Soldiers in the field. The HEV brings on-board power for future high-powered systems, export power to grids capability, increased range, and characteristics required for silent watch—silent mobility, rapid acceleration, and maneuverability—to allow Soldiers to do what they need to do, when they need to do it.
To increase operational effectiveness and automotive performance of combat and tactical vehicles, RCCTO asked industry to provide prototypes with current technologies and capabilities. Results from tests conducted at ATC and the performance of each vehicle will inform hybrid requirements and designs for future HEV programs.
Each prototype uses a different Hybrid Electric Architecture to turn the wheels. One vehicle is a series hybrid, meaning an electric motor turns the vehicle wheels; another is a parallel hybrid with an electric motor and combustion engine connected to a transmission, and a Battery Dominant variant uses a small combustion engine that continuously provides power to the battery.
“There's a lot of testing these vehicles will go through but some of the main ones are maximum range testing, meaning ‘how far can they go on one full tank of gas’ or a full battery charge; fuel efficiency testing - to see how much more fuel efficient they are than their legacy counterparts as well as showing off their electrical export, silent mobility, and silent watch in electric mode”, said Alex Sanchez, ATC Test Engineer for THEV.
Vehicles will undergo performance testing, speed on grade, durability testing, max range, fuel economy, and acceleration testing at ATC’s Munson and Perryman Automotive test courses, while top speed will be measured at ATC’s Automotive Technology Evaluation Facility, ATEF.
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To request test services, please call 443-861-9653 or visit the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command’s request for test services page: https://www.atec.army.mil/rfts.html
As a subordinate of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center is committed to supporting the Warfighter by developing leading-edge instrumentation and test methodologies to enable a decisive advantage when it counts.
Please direct media inquires to the RCCTO Public Affairs Office (PAO) at usarmy.pentagon.hqda-rccto.mbx.external-affairs-office@army.mil.
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