WASHINGTON — Leonardo DRS successfully demonstrated its On Board Vehicle Power system, which can route electrical power from a vehicle to a weapon system, in a recent U.S. Army operational user assessment focused on battlefield power generation and management, the company announced Monday.
The OBVP system integrates with an Allison Transmission propulsion unit and generates electrical power that can be routed to a weapon, another vehicle or a power grid. Through this system, a medium tactical vehicle outfitted with OBVP can generate up to 55 kilowatts of usable electrical power while moving, or up to 125 kilowatts of power while stationary, according to the company’s news release.
For the demonstration, Leonardo DRS installed the system on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system’s Launch Control Station Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, the Tactical Operation Station FMTV, and the THAAD Launcher Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck.
The assessment took place at McGregor Range in New Mexico and was the final event of the so-called Secure Tactical Advanced Mobile Power Joint Capability Technology Demonstration sponsored by Army Futures Command.
“This successful demonstration once again showed how vehicle-based electrical power generation can be employed in remote areas where the concern about contested logistics is a reality,” Bill Guyan, the senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS’ land electronics business unit, said in the news release.
He added the system will reduce logistics requirements and costs for deployed units as well as give “users clean electrical power anywhere, and anytime.”
OBVP featured in previous demonstrations and evaluations for other Army and Marine Corps units, and the company says it will improve mission readiness with no impact to the functionality of the vehicle providing power.
Leonardo DRS told Defense News the company is supporting prototype efforts for several pairings. For the Missile Defense Agency, it’s powering THAAD through the FMTV and HEMTT vehicles used in the recent demonstration.
For the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, it’s powering the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon through the FMTV and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle platforms.
For the Army’s Aviation and Missile Center, it’s powering a mobile radar with the FMTV vehicle. And for the service’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center, it’s using the FMTV for vehicle electrification and vehicle-to-grid transfers.
In addition to powering weapons, Leonardo DRS is pitching the system as able to powere mobile command posts, tactical or combat operations centers, field hospitals, fueling stations, and more.
A slide from the project manager for transportation systems showed the Army is looking at continued prototyping work in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 before moving into OBVP production in fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027.
Megan Eckstein is the naval warfare reporter at Defense News. She has covered military news since 2009, with a focus on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operations, acquisition programs and budgets. She has reported from four geographic fleets and is happiest when she’s filing stories from a ship. Megan is a University of Maryland alumna.
