Posted on 07/27/2022 6:13:12 AM PDT by Red Badger
Typically an Abrams tank in combat would be difficult to hide, but if an Abrams tank could linger beneath a thick forest of trees and operate while silent and not emit heat, the advantages would be enormous
What if an Abrams tank were able to surge forward into enemy territory with much greater range, endurance and offensive combat success due to needing less fuel and logistics support? What if armored vehicles could silently hide from enemy detection without emitting a heat or noise signature? This might enable clandestine scout and reconnaissance missions, enable surprise attack or simply allow focused attention of computing, communications, networking and weapons.
Army Climate Strategy These advancements are fast-becoming more realistic, in part due to the Army’s recently published Climate Strategy. While the strategy is comprehensive and wide-spanning in its sphere of topics and areas of focus, one interesting and potentially impactful area of focus relates to “hybridizing” commercial, non-tactical and tactical vehicles with electric propulsion and operational technologies. The goal, as cited in the strategy, could be described in terms of interwoven, mutually reinforcing concepts … making constructive environmental changes while also introducing extremely significant new combat advantages to the force.
A perhaps lesser recognized yet impactful element of this initiative relates to the multitude of ways in which introducing the hybridization of heavier combat vehicles could measurably improve tactical performance, perhaps even saving lives in combat.
m1a2-abrams-battle-tank Military.com
“While these steps are focused on reducing greenhouse gasses, every one of these steps is going to make us a better and more effective fighting force,” Mr. Paul Farnan, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army, Installation, Energy and Environment, told a group of reporters when talking about the new Climate Strategy.
Hybridizing Abrams Tanks A mechanized column of armored vehicles including Abrams tanks, could certainly surge forward into enemy territory to “close with an enemy,” is a much faster and more efficient way should fuel requirements be drastically reduced. Heavily armored vehicles require so much fuel to advance forward, yet they need substantial logistics support in the way of continued fuel and other supplies. Transporting things like fuel of course introduces an element of risk, making advancing forces more vulnerable. An ability to surge farther without needing as much of a logistics chain can therefore introduce very significant tactical advantages, as explained by Farnan.
“What we are looking for is ways to more effectively enhance our force and improve how we are able to fight wars. If we reduce the amount of fuel required, there is less of a logistical tail line that we will have to supply our forces. This enables greater on-station time for forces,” Farnan explained.
M1A2 Abrams Battle Tank M1A2 Abrams Battle Tank
There are other tactical advantages as well, such as the prospect of “silent watch.” A hybridized vehicle can operate with the ability to quietly linger in a high-value, high-risk area without emitting an acoustic or thermal signature. This is extremely significant, because of course it allows the vehicle to run while saving fuel, but also helps advancing forces stay quasi “stealthy” or less detectable to increasingly advanced enemy sensors. Should a tank effectively obscure itself from an overhead EO/IR camera using terrain, it would be extremely difficult for enemy drones, satellites and other sensors to detect.
The tactical advantage of this kind of ability is massive, as it could improve success prospects for clandestine missions, scouting and reconnaissance or surprise attack. Typically something like an Abrams in combat would be difficult to hide, but if a tank could linger beneath a thick forest of trees and operate while remaining entirely silent and not emitting heat, the combat advantages would be enormous.
The text of the Army’s “Climate Strategy” explained this in terms of merging“climate and combat” advantages.
“Contemporary Army ground vehicles must continuously run their engines non-stop to power vital auxiliary systems like communications equipment even when the vehicle is not moving. Introducing anti-idle enables these systems to be powered even with the engine off, allowing the vehicle to serve its critical battlefield functions on “silent watch,” the strategy writes.
Farnan explained that integrating electrical propulsion and functionality into heavy combat vehicles such as Abrams or Bradleys will happen on a “much longer timeline given all the issues that it is going to involve. We are going to push hard to get there but be methodical and deliberate to do it,” Farnan said.
Army Secretary Wormuth’s intent to align climate change enviro-friendly adaptations with tactical, technological and strategic warfighting improvements involves ongoing synergies with the services’ acquisition and modernization communities and the Installation, Energy and Environment units. Some of these efforts, which were referred to by Farnan, include a step by step hybridization and things like the installation of batteries.
Army Modernization This is quite significant and not without some kinds of technological precedent in the realm of Army modernization. For instance, as far back as 15 years ago, the Army’s Manned-Ground Vehicles developed for Future Combat Systems were engineered with electricity and power-generating battery technologies.
While batteries need to be properly cooled in many cases to function in an optimal way, this innovation brought the clear tactical advantage of being able to better power up and sustain on-board electrical systems such as sensors, computing and C4ISR communications systems. This is just one of many examples in which Army innovations explored for Future Combat Systems wound up informing successful modernization efforts in subsequent years.
While the ambitious and in many ways successful FCS program was canceled in 2009 by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, many FCS-inspired technological breakthroughs wound up contributing to and informing decades of continued modernization. In the realm of hybridization of vehicles and electric propulsion systems, this paradoxical dynamic with FCS could help as there are previous successful technological efforts likely able to expedite current developments.
Much of this may take time to evolve, yet there is precedent and previous technological progress which might help accelerate development with both the tactical and combat vehicle fleet. Hybridized vehicles would need to be effectively ruggedized for combat and able to preserve their weapons and warfighting advantages. This enviro-military synergy, however, appears auspicious and promising as something quite realistic, favoring success and already underway.
M1A2 Abrams Battle Tank M1A2 Abrams Battle Tank
Military.com
The Army’s Climate Strategy does speak to this progress, by referring to a number of projects such as its Electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, a program slated to begin testing by September of next year. Research along these lines is surging ahead. The strategy writes “
“The Army is researching key questions about hybrid vehicle propulsion and power generation systems, developing advanced technologies, and working with vehicle Program Managers to integrate hybrid electric technologies into future and existing platforms.”
Kris Osborn is the Defense Editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Master's Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
And diesel is even more dense that gasoline. 15% more energy per volume.
Electric motors create heat!
But you don't need batteries for electric. Think OGRE.
What if the tank was the size of a small warship and had an internal fission reactor?
Yes, a retired electrical engineer friend of mine built a heat exchanger for his pool using the heat from the pool’s pump to heat the pool!......................
Just watched it. Ford Lightening is less than worthless for towing.
Should work well when in a war zone. But the US is going to lose a major war and lose badly so it probably won’t make much difference.
That is the important data point. Also important is the thermal difference that a typical thermal sight can detect. A human being is easy to see in a thermal scope, as is a 100 pound wild pig.
The amount of energy required just to operate the on board communications equipment releases enough heat for the tank to be detectable with a thermal sight system. The only scheme likely to hide the tank is some kind of active surface cooling technology which relies on hot surfaces where the sights can't see them, like under the tank.
Regardless of whether the energy input is from kerosene or batteries it ultimately all turns to heat.
You can divert it, try to hide it - but can't wish it away. Physics is a cruel master.
Then it would be a BOLO.🤔
Maybe they could stick a windmill on top?
A 50 ton vehicle would need around 10 tons of batteries. Minimum.
The chips in military vehicles are less susceptible to an EMP attach than the ones with the same function in your pickup truck, which is why MIL-SPEC chips cost so much more.
The major firefights will be around power stations, transmission lines and charging stations. Bridges, roads, towns are so yesterday.
Powered by new 6 GW “D” cells?
Diamond atomic batteries?
Refined bullshit made into electricity?
Mostly BS, I would say...
This is complete BS. It’s intended to help rationalize the current idiotic Administration’s emphasis on the Green Agenda.
The laws of physics and combat do not yield to wokery.
Pure fantasy. A back of the napkin calculation of how much energy is required to accelerate a 70-ton tracked vehicle from a ZERO to say 10MPH should disabuse anybody of the idea that a battery pack could do that. Plus you’d likely have to create a brand new transmission for it.
LOL! Watch the batteries burst into flames because of the heat generated by the rapid discharge needed to move that think. Blowed up real good!
All it takes is a small crack and welcome EMP.
What do ‘they’ care if it works. Defense contractors will get trillions for these fantasy projects that won’t work.
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