Powering the U.S. Army of the Future (2021) / Chapter Skim
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5 Dismounted Soldier Power and Light Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Unmanned Ground Vehicles
5 Dismounted Soldier Power and Light Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Unmanned Ground Vehicles
Pages 59-72
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From page 59... ...
However, the Army's primary mission is not to save money; it is to prevent and/or win wars. As SLA Marshall famously observed in 1950, repeated by military scholars, and reiterated by McManus in 2010, "Wars are won on the ground, usually by small groups of fighters, who require considerable logistical, firepower, and popular support."1 On a comparative basis, dismounted Soldier energy consumption is miniscule when compared to jet fighters and tanks.
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From page 60... ...
The obvious metrics are not only "how much energy is used," but also "how can one maximize the operational benefit of energy? " In fact, this is the crux of "EnergyInformed Operations," captured in Army Operational Energy policy, which asserts the goal to manage energy to provide the greatest operational benefit.3 While past analyses focused directly on the Soldier and things they carry, modern technologies have uncovered powerful new opportunities to extend Soldier capabilities by projecting their senses and zone of influence.
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From page 61... ...
Joannopoulos, 2020, "Silent Lightweight Battlefield Power Source: Scalable from Soldier Wearable Power to Platform Power," white paper presented to the study committee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.
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From page 62... ...
cell to generate electricity. This approach is significantly more efficient than traditional thermophotovoltaics because the light emitted by the nanophotonic material has a near perfect match to the PV cell to generate electricity, as indicated in Figure 5.3.
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From page 63... ...
Joannopoulos, 2020, "Silent Lightweight Battlefield Power Source: Scalable from Soldier Wearable Power to Platform Power," white paper presented to committee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.
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From page 64... ...
Compared to fuel cells, this technology offers fuel flexibility because it can convert conventional fuels without a reformer and does not suffer damage by sulfur. Furthermore, liquid fuels have a much lower storage overhead than hydrogen or propane.
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From page 65... ...
Joannopoulos, 2020, "Silent Lightweight Battlefield Power Source: Scalable from Soldier Wearable Power to Platform Power," white paper presented to committee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.
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From page 66... ...
Joannopoulos, 2020, "Silent Lightweight Battlefield Power Source: Scalable from Soldier Wearable Power to Platform Power," white paper presented to committee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. 7 See Appendix I for a summary of possible technical challenges.
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From page 67... ...
SOURCE: U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center, 2020, "General Dynamics Land Systems Finally Secures SMET Unmanned Ground Vehicle Contract," Overt Defense, https://www.overtdefense.com/2020/07/ 20/general-dynamics-land-systems-finally-secures-smet-unmanned-groundvehicle-contract/.
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From page 68... ...
. Examples of current research solicitations by Army agencies include development of a lightweight, vibration-tolerant SOFC power system capable of high cycle life and rapid start-up; development and integration of innovative materials and technologies to enable lowering the operating temperature of SOFCs to 300–600°C; and development of a man-portable 2 kW SOFC system to power robotic vehicles, ground vehicle auxiliary systems, and exoskeletons.12 The Army has experimented with a 20 W soldier-wearable proton exchange membrane (PEM)
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From page 69... ...
Howell, project director of soldier systems integration at the Army's project manager soldier warrior office.13 But fuel cells intended to be worn by dismounted troops currently are not providing enough energy to justify the extra weight, he said. Conclusion: Further studies of dismounted soldier SOFC fuel cells utiliz ing propane, methanol, and other non-JP8 hydrocarbon fuels are not rec ommended beyond the work presently under way.
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From page 70... ...
Pullen, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Army Research Laboratory, 2020, "Radioisotope Power Sources -- Technology and Applications: Maximizing Beta Interactions in Textured Energy Converters," presentation to the committee on June 22.
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From page 71... ...
to utilize minimal power levels. While very small radiation sources have become routine in such applications as smoke detectors, larger quantities needed to produce useful electrical power would imply greater tracking, monitoring, and recovery protocols to avoid creating situations such as civilian discovery and unwitting radiation exposure from abandoned devices -- as occurred in former Soviet Georgia in 2001.18 Dismounted Soldiers represent the greatest operational challenge in terms of enhancing capabilities without degrading capacity.
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From page 72... ...
The constant power-production aspect would require development of integrated energy management technologies, including electrical/thermal management, energy storage, flexible heat rejection methods, and signature mitigation. Moreover, while Soldiers already carry sensitive items such as weapons and communication devices, automated large-scale, real-time security/accountability methodologies would be important as in the case of unattended devices.
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