Army's New Hybrid Tank Targets Our Enemies and Soaring Oil Prices This caught my attention reading some of the pop tech feeds... Hybrid powered military vehicles.
Cool, but honestly I'm not sure I see how much advantage there is to a hybrid tank, but who knows, it'll be interesting to see the technical details.
That's not a tank, the main weapon is only a 25mm. It's an infantry fighting vehicle and carries 12 men. Ii looks like a streatched version of the M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle which was built by the US company that BAE bought. It is a lot heavier than the Bradley, almost twice as heavy, that would primarily be for more armor. Close combat vehicles (Tanks, IFVs) spend a lot of time in "Silent watch". A hybrid battery pack would be good for that. They would be able to keep critical systems up for hours without running an engine. It would also be advantageous to be able to move short (meters to km distances) without firing up an engine.
+1 Seems like major advantages. The big question is how well the batteries do sitting around in the heat. I found this strange statement in the article Which seems crazy to think anyone would want to have to supply the recharge in combat. PHEV fighting vehicles seem like a big advance, BEV transports and tanks don't make much sense when fighting a war. http://green.autoblog.com/2012/02/27/hybrid-army-tank-renderings-some-specs-revealed/ emphasis mine.
The advantage of a hybrid tank would be as xs650 stated... Urban warfare, tanks make a hell of a lot of noise because of the engine. Also, its thermal signature due to the engine tends to make it noticeable. Another thing to consider is that in order to fight a war, there is always going to the issue of supply lines. A tank (Even one that doesn't look like a traditional main battle tank) will still need a means to move that hunk of mass, which would be fuel. The thing is, tanks are damn heavy with the armor and armaments on it and even with a fuel efficient turbine engine to drive it, the fuel requirements are pretty hefty and in some environments, require serious air filtering in order to run effectively well. A hybrid option would allow a tank to be a little bit longer range in mobilization, and in some cases, as cited above, a bit 'quieter' in close combat situations.
Sorry, for reviving this, but I just rediscovered the "news". http://www.baesystems.com/page/BAES_154541/ If this thing goes in production, it should bring acceptance of hybrids to the whole army of rednecks.
I could see tank drones: smaller, faster, less fuel consumption than the current proposed hybrid tank. DBCassidy
As xs pointed out it's an armored infantry vehicle, not a battle tank. I'd think that the problem with tank drones is communications. Might as well put a guy inside it. They could become more flexible, with optional remote control, but I suspect that instead you'll simply see decreased use of tanks and a shift to other weapons tech.
Yep, anything is possible with the current technology. Maybe, there will be a Skynet equivalent with cyborgs doing the fighting for humans. DBCassidy
Air and oceans are relatively benign and uniform compared to surface conditions. One good mud bog is a technological challenge of the first order. Then there are ditches, trees, and friendly bipedal critters all over the area. Now the Marines are using the "R-gator" and though still a little large, it makes a lot of sense: John Deere R-Gator™ Military Utility Vehicles JohnDeere.com Bob Wilson
Search for "marine mule" and you can find images of: But in reality, the best use is to carry all the 'crap' we are supposed to carry . . . worse today! The one I'm thinking of showed a photo of a marine with a remote-control walking along with the mule. There might have been one where the marine walks along and the mule follows. But that reminds me of an old joke . . . Bob Wilson
Yes with the 50 cal spotter on top. When I went through infantry training school, the instructor said that based upon the spotter round 'in flight' a good gunner would fire the 106 before it hit. Bob Wilson
In my best Crocodile Dundee imitation, that's not a recoilless rifle, THIS is a recoilless rifle http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=khyZI3RK2lE
