Utilizando como plataforma base a la camioneta Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD ZR2, el Veh\u00edculo T\u00e1ctico H\u00edbrido de Pr\u00f3xima Generaci\u00f3n combina el motor turbodi\u00e9sel Duramax de 2,8 L de GM con un paquete de bater\u00edas de 12 m\u00f3dulos,\u00a0\u201c\u2026adem\u00e1s de motores de accionamiento para los ejes delantero y trasero que permiten Silent Drive y Silent Watch, tecnolog\u00edas que hacen que los veh\u00edculos sean m\u00e1s dif\u00edciles de detectar\u2026\u201d,\u00a0describe GM Defense.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Army is taking a\u00a0hybrid next-generation tactical vehicle prototype<\/a>\u00a0for a spin in snowy Bavarian terrain, according to a report from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa posted to its website.<\/p>\n The\u00a0GM Defense<\/a>-developed Next Generation Tactical Vehicle-Hybrid, or NGTV-H, is a diesel-powered, electric light reconnaissance vehicle that the company unveiled at the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s annual conference in October.<\/p>\n The Army introduced the prototype to the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, which is\u00a0conducting testing on the vehicle\u00a0<\/a>during Combined Resolve, a recurring U.S. Army exercise held at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.<\/p>\n The service is sending a variety of capabilities to units globally as part of its\u00a0Transformation in Contact initiative,<\/a>\u00a0which allows soldiers and commanders to\u00a0try new technologies in real operational environments\u00a0<\/a>and scenarios to better confirm whether new capabilities will work outside of controlled test and evaluation environments.<\/p>\n The Army does not yet have a requirement for a new Humvee, or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or something else to replace the 40-year old vehicles in the force.<\/p>\n The service has replaced some Humvees with the newer\u00a0Joint Light Tactical Vehicles<\/a>, but the service wants to retain a slightly smaller vehicle akin to the Humvee in its inventory.<\/p>\n GM Defense\u2019s NGTV-H takes the Chevy Silverado truck and the same Duramax engine used on the Army\u2019s\u00a0Infantry Squad Vehicle<\/a>\u00a0and pairs it with an electric battery capable of producing roughly 300 kilowatt hours of power output and a 15-gallon fuel tank.<\/p>\n As the war in Ukraine rages on, soldiers fighting there have shown the need for vehicles quieter than current military vehicles. The technology in hybrid electric vehicles, like the NGTV-H, allow for silent drive, meaning the vehicle is able to power systems without idling an engine. In the prototype vehicle, the driver can switch between \u201csilent mode\u201d and regular engine mode with the flip of a switch, according to GM Defense.<\/p>\n The electric battery also helps decrease the battery requirements for units on the battlefield. The Army has gone from a platoon carrying roughly 48 pounds of batteries in Desert Storm and Desert Shield to carrying 1,200 pounds of batteries.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s unreal, the amount of kit now that requires energy,\u201d Pete Johnson, GM Defense vice president of business development for integrated vehicles, told Defense News on a visit last fall to General Motors Milford Proving Ground.<\/p>\n The vehicle is transportable in C-130 and C-17 aircraft and can be sling-loaded by a CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter or an MH-53 King Stallion helicopter.<\/p>\n Army leadership in recent years\u00a0have expressed interest in hybrid-electric capabilities<\/a>\u00a0for combat vehicles because of the operational capabilities they would bring to the battlefield but have yet to bite the bullet. Evaluations like the one ongoing in Europe could accelerate adoption of such capability.<\/p>\n