thedrifter
06-12-07, 07:22 PM
Army requests tactical vehicle with more power
Programmers want electricity, bigger payload
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 12, 2007 19:08:31 EDT
Army programmers have changed the requirements for the next-generation Humvee, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, now asking it to haul a heavier payload, drive with two flat tires, and carry embedded diagnostics and an electrical generator.
The upgraded requirements span survivability, communications, deployability and more, according to the Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, the lead on the joint-service effort to buy as many as 160,000 vehicles to replace the Humvee.
The new requirements were posted in early June on the command’s Web site, just ahead of the Army’s request for proposals, which is slated to be released in coming weeks, Army officials said.
At least five JLTV variants are planned: the Combat Tactical Vehicle, the Utility Vehicle, the Command and Control On-the-Move Vehicle, the Long Range Surveillance Vehicle, and the heavier, 23,000-pound Ground Maneuver Vehicle.
The payload requirements have gone up for most of the Army variants, including the utility vehicle, up 200 pounds to 5,500; the command vehicle, up 880 pounds to 5,100; and the ground maneuver vehicle, up 400 pounds to 6,700.
Some of the Marine versions are not required to carry so much; the desired payload for the Marine combat vehicle is 4,326 pounds; the command variant, 4,000 pounds.
Other new requirements include:
* Making 30 kilowatts of electricity. “The JLTV shall be capable of generating sustained power (independent of hotel loads and exportable power) with the engine running and idle and while the vehicle is moving,” the Web site says.
* Towing a trailer with ammunition and supplies. “Each JLTV shall be provided with a companion trailer that carries the same payload as its prime mover over the same speeds and mission profile. All reliability characteristics of the prime mover shall apply to the trailer,” the Web site says.
* Carrying more ammo: two cans of M-16, one can of M203, six cans of Mk-19, M2 and M60/M240-6, and four cans of M249 ammo.
The last two requirements are also part of the effort to increase fuel efficiency to 90 ton-miles per gallon at maximum gross vehicle weight.
The new requirements also emphasize survivability. They call for jam-resistant doors so that soldiers and Marines can escape after their vehicles take damage, for an automatic fire-extinguishing system and for extra spall liner to “minimize secondary perforation effects within the vehicle.” Spall is the fragments and pieces that result from hostile fire.
Also added is the requirement that the JLTV come with the A-kit armor and an option to add a B-kit that includes a gunner’s protective shield. Both kits are options on today’s Humvees. The A-kit consists of extra armor plates bolted on to the sides of the vehicle, while the B-kit is a heavier version designed to thwart stronger threats.
The JLTV must be able to run on two flat tires and keep going after a small-arms attack.
The JLTV family of vehicles shall be capable of traveling “one terrain feature” with a single small-arms perforation “in the fuel tank, engine oil reservoir, or cooling system which causes a fluid leak,” the Web site said.
All variants must use common parts, trailers, and communications gear, and must be threaded with diagnostic devices that help find and fix problems.
“The vehicle embedded diagnostic/health monitoring system will display failures/alert the operator and maintainer to enable rapid repair of electronic and electronically monitored faults and failures. Electronic monitoring will cover the following systems (not an all-inclusive list): fuel, air intake, engine, cooling, transmission, energy storage, power generation and vehicle speed,” the Web site said.
As for deployability, the JLTV requirements have previously specified that the vehicle be able to ride aboard a C-130, C-17 or C-5, or be carried by a CH-53, CH-47 or MH-47 helicopter. The new requirements say the JLTV must be able to perform a low-velocity airdrop from a C-130, C-17 or C-5 aircraft. A low-velocity airdrop, would have the vehicle dropping out of the plane without the plane landing.
The Navy’s Office of Naval Research, which has been working on JLTV technology since 2005, has ordered modeling and simulation aid from AM General, BAE Systems, Cadillac Gage, General Dynamics Land Systems and Oshkosh.
Oshkosh has built two demonstrator vehicles with on-board electric power. The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT A3) is a hybrid-electric truck able to export 200 kilowatts of electric power made by Oshkosh for the Army. Oshkosh also delivered a Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement with an on-board generator for the Marine Corps.
The requirement for on-board power “aids us because we have that experience,” said David Hare, marketing manager with Oshkosh. “We have done it inherent to a vehicle with the HEMMT A3, and with the MTVR we built it on with a kit.”
Ellie
Programmers want electricity, bigger payload
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 12, 2007 19:08:31 EDT
Army programmers have changed the requirements for the next-generation Humvee, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, now asking it to haul a heavier payload, drive with two flat tires, and carry embedded diagnostics and an electrical generator.
The upgraded requirements span survivability, communications, deployability and more, according to the Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, the lead on the joint-service effort to buy as many as 160,000 vehicles to replace the Humvee.
The new requirements were posted in early June on the command’s Web site, just ahead of the Army’s request for proposals, which is slated to be released in coming weeks, Army officials said.
At least five JLTV variants are planned: the Combat Tactical Vehicle, the Utility Vehicle, the Command and Control On-the-Move Vehicle, the Long Range Surveillance Vehicle, and the heavier, 23,000-pound Ground Maneuver Vehicle.
The payload requirements have gone up for most of the Army variants, including the utility vehicle, up 200 pounds to 5,500; the command vehicle, up 880 pounds to 5,100; and the ground maneuver vehicle, up 400 pounds to 6,700.
Some of the Marine versions are not required to carry so much; the desired payload for the Marine combat vehicle is 4,326 pounds; the command variant, 4,000 pounds.
Other new requirements include:
* Making 30 kilowatts of electricity. “The JLTV shall be capable of generating sustained power (independent of hotel loads and exportable power) with the engine running and idle and while the vehicle is moving,” the Web site says.
* Towing a trailer with ammunition and supplies. “Each JLTV shall be provided with a companion trailer that carries the same payload as its prime mover over the same speeds and mission profile. All reliability characteristics of the prime mover shall apply to the trailer,” the Web site says.
* Carrying more ammo: two cans of M-16, one can of M203, six cans of Mk-19, M2 and M60/M240-6, and four cans of M249 ammo.
The last two requirements are also part of the effort to increase fuel efficiency to 90 ton-miles per gallon at maximum gross vehicle weight.
The new requirements also emphasize survivability. They call for jam-resistant doors so that soldiers and Marines can escape after their vehicles take damage, for an automatic fire-extinguishing system and for extra spall liner to “minimize secondary perforation effects within the vehicle.” Spall is the fragments and pieces that result from hostile fire.
Also added is the requirement that the JLTV come with the A-kit armor and an option to add a B-kit that includes a gunner’s protective shield. Both kits are options on today’s Humvees. The A-kit consists of extra armor plates bolted on to the sides of the vehicle, while the B-kit is a heavier version designed to thwart stronger threats.
The JLTV must be able to run on two flat tires and keep going after a small-arms attack.
The JLTV family of vehicles shall be capable of traveling “one terrain feature” with a single small-arms perforation “in the fuel tank, engine oil reservoir, or cooling system which causes a fluid leak,” the Web site said.
All variants must use common parts, trailers, and communications gear, and must be threaded with diagnostic devices that help find and fix problems.
“The vehicle embedded diagnostic/health monitoring system will display failures/alert the operator and maintainer to enable rapid repair of electronic and electronically monitored faults and failures. Electronic monitoring will cover the following systems (not an all-inclusive list): fuel, air intake, engine, cooling, transmission, energy storage, power generation and vehicle speed,” the Web site said.
As for deployability, the JLTV requirements have previously specified that the vehicle be able to ride aboard a C-130, C-17 or C-5, or be carried by a CH-53, CH-47 or MH-47 helicopter. The new requirements say the JLTV must be able to perform a low-velocity airdrop from a C-130, C-17 or C-5 aircraft. A low-velocity airdrop, would have the vehicle dropping out of the plane without the plane landing.
The Navy’s Office of Naval Research, which has been working on JLTV technology since 2005, has ordered modeling and simulation aid from AM General, BAE Systems, Cadillac Gage, General Dynamics Land Systems and Oshkosh.
Oshkosh has built two demonstrator vehicles with on-board electric power. The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT A3) is a hybrid-electric truck able to export 200 kilowatts of electric power made by Oshkosh for the Army. Oshkosh also delivered a Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement with an on-board generator for the Marine Corps.
The requirement for on-board power “aids us because we have that experience,” said David Hare, marketing manager with Oshkosh. “We have done it inherent to a vehicle with the HEMMT A3, and with the MTVR we built it on with a kit.”
Ellie