The diesel-electric hybrid hype has met its match: the U.S. Army. After focusing on hydrogen fuel cells in its original version of The Aggressor, a high-performance, off-road Alternative Mobility Vehicle (AMV) for military ground exploration and scouting missions, the Pentagon is now going the way of Detroit — with batteries.
The new, second-generation prototype will still utilize the same basic chassis and exterior design for light-duty capacity. But the Armys auto research arm — part of the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) — has developed a battery-dominant, hybrid-electric drivetrain with a diesel engine-generator. That could make the new Aggressor the first hybrid to hit the streets of Baghdad en masse.
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(Note: You may have noticed we’re posting more and more stuff from Popular Mechanics these days, which is because that magazine’s great staff has agreed to let us feature their best defense-related content. Look for it here and at Military.com.)
– Ward
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Vehicles like that are useless for scouting.
A line of burnt-out jeeps in North Africa taught this lesson to the U.S.Army.
Being silent doesn’t help much. Unarmoured vehicles are too vulnerable for scouting, and only armies with defect memory or brain would use them while armoured vehicles are available.
It’s therefore just a demonstrator.
I was stationed at NTC,Ft. Irwin in 1983-84 & had a chance to see 9th Infantry Division’s dune buggys(please can somebody give the military designation model number for those?).I thought they looked totally cool(I saw them in garrison driving around the post).I mean,they looked cooler than the (at the time) brand spanking new M2/3 Bradleys & M1 Abrams training at the same time(They parked a Bradley in Garrison & off of the ranges & training areas so everybody could see what one looked like).I thought that the Fast Attack Vehicle was a good idea & apparently SOC still thinks so.Whats wrong with a single silent AMV doing scout duty if it has the speed to outrun enemy fire?
BUT….. an AMV would be totally useless in an urban environment without armor protection.Even a Fast Attack Vehicle would be useless in an urban environment.These are both OFF-ROAD vehicles.An AMV with add-on armor would seem like an oxymoron.