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Hybrid electric cars are on the rise in corporate advertising due to their efficiency and lower toxin emission advantages. Although mileage remains an appealing component in business and defence domains, drivers of half-electric cars are extremely rare for defence purposes.
These capabilities expand a war fighter’s primary aim abilities as far as mobility, survival, and lethality by supplying a significant amount of power locally available in their vehicles to meet defensive needs.
In contrast to ICE vehicles, an electric car offers a lot of versatility. This is due to the lack of complicated mechanical systems necessary to run a traditional vehicle.
The motor is the sole component that moves in an EV. Different control systems and approaches can be used to regulate it. For the motor to work, it needs a power source, and that source might come from a variety of places.
They may be located wherever on the car as long as the electrical cables connecting them are intact. The vehicle will still function.
Alternatively, an EV can just use electricity to power itself, but it may also use an internal combustion engine (ICE) in combination with an electric motor to do the same thing.
Their capacity to improve the efficacy and long-term survival of electric vehicles is one of the biggest activities that are relatively silent. Depending on configuration, these vehicles can either ‘idle’ or operate in a stationary overwatch mode.
Slowly and stealthily advance. Vehicle electrification reduces thermal signatures by a factor of an eight-fold decrease (8:1 reduction), whereas audible signatures are halved (5:1 reduction). This might be a game changer on future battlefields, both in terms of survival and lethality.
Military Vehicle Research and Development Due to present circumstances and countries’ decreasing defence budgets, electrification may be hindered from progressing further.
Due to import and export rules, the industry has had to deal with operational and ongoing issues. The COVID-19 epidemic is currently a global health problem and a major challenge in many nations.
Military vehicles that have a lot of electronics require a lot of electrical power, and this is predicted to severely limit battery capacity because capacity decreases with increasing discharge rates.
While electric cars have found a home in the business sector, they have yet to make a name for themselves in the military. For quite some time now, electric cars have been used by the military, but their capabilities and applications are limited due to army camp and personnel vehicle rules.
This is because of the difficulties the defence industry has had to deal with as a result of the limited available range. To date, military electric vehicles have been utilised for mobility (Polaris – GEM), delivery of military logistics (MIL-LOG), and unmanned systems (UAV). Hybrid electric army squad vehicles eventually came to fruition in response to the changing trends.
The growth of the Asia Pacific Military Vehicle Electrification market is largely driven by major economies in this region’s growing expenditure on military vehicle acquisition.
Higher geopolitical tensions and increased defence spending are also likely to boost demand for Military Vehicle Electrification in the region. The main drivers of this technology are government subsidies, major expenditures in fuel cell development, and a focus on delivering clean energy and environmentally friendly solutions.
The Global Military Electric Vehicles Market can be segmented into the following categories for further analysis.
Since the dawn of the car era, the internal combustion engine has been a dominating technology. Electric cars have a bright future because of the limited supply of fossil fuels and the associated environmental issues.
Vehicle electrification has increased substantially in the commercial sector, but range and charge remain a concern, particularly in the military vehicle platform. It is necessary to develop battery life, charging facilities, and on-the-go charging facilities.
The JLTV is one of the latest technologies in the military electric vehicles. The JLTV is a heavily armoured 4×4 utility vehicle developed to improve crew safety over the Humvee. The Army intends to purchase three variations of the jeep, including a general-purpose flatbed, a heavy weapons carrier, and a close combat weapon carrier.
The Duramax 6.6-liter V-8 diesel is the basis for the Banks 866T turbo diesel engine in JLTV. However, from a logistical perspective, one of the JLTV’s finest characteristics may actually render it susceptible in the long run. A JLTV with an electric motor would provide several tactical advantages on the battlefield.
Because electric cars are so much quieter than internal combustion vehicles, such as diesels, they’d be harder to see on the battlefield. As a result, the JLTV might serve as an excellent “sneak and peak” reconnaissance vehicle, capable of silently observing enemy front lines without being noticed.
Most of these vehicles are developed, manufactured, and purchased in the USA but distinctive developments are discussed including those for dual purpose civil and military uses that frequently push the limits of what is feasible for civil use first.
Modern military land vehicles’ power and energy needs are growing as the quantity of electronic equipment increases, placing an additional burden on vehicle battery technology.
The performance capabilities of traditional lead-acid batteries in automotive applications have been achieved, leading to the development of new battery technologies. Li-ion batteries have risen to prominence as a backup battery option for a wide range of devices. This is owing to advancements in a variety of areas, such as electrode materials and cell design.
GM has been part of the recent development trends of the electric vehicles which is focused upon fulfilling the military operations and requirements. It has brought in the Fuel cell-based battery vehicles. Automobiles fuelled by hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell work similarly to electric cars.
While driving, these cars produce just water vapour, making them superior to battery-electric ones for longer distances. The cars may run on renewable hydrogen produced from wind and biomass.
GM has teamed up with the US defence industry to test fuel-cell technologies, including the ZH2 pickup truck built in Colorado and an unmanned underwater vehicle. The Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure, a military vehicle platform, is also a demonstration of the company’s fuel-cell technology.
The AFC GVSC unit already has been maintaining zthe possible requirements of military electric vehicle modification. As shown in the Tactical Vehicle Electrification Kit (TVEK) research from November 2019, AFC GVSC offers a hybrid electric conversion kit for the M977 Cargo Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).
Studies have shown 15-25 percent reductions in overall engine run time and favourable Return on Investment (ROI) after only 24 months of implementation. TVEK features twice the quiet watch capabilities, treble the power production capability, import/export power capability and a 600-volt Direct Current (DC) bus for future capability extension.