BAE Systems may upgrade CV90 armoured infantry fighting vehicle with hybrid-electric propulsion 1008

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Defence & Security Industry News - BAE Systems
 
 
Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:38 AM
 
BAE Systems may upgrade CV90 armoured infantry fighting vehicle with hybrid-electric propulsion.
BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defense company, may upgrade its CV90 armored vehicle with a hybrid-electric propulsion system as armies look to cut expenses for fuel that can be many times the price paid at a civil gas station. “A requirement we are seeing more and more often is environmental issues in terms of fuel economy,” Dan Lindell, CV90 platform manager, told reporters yesterday at a briefing in London. That’s driving BAE’s upgrade plans for the armored fighting vehicle first developed for Sweden in the 1980s.
     

Swedish army CV90 armoured infantry fighting vehicle armed with a 30mm cannon.
     

The Swedish military, which has deployed the CV90 in Liberia, has seen fuel costs of about $107 per liter while operating in Afghanistan, while U.S. forces reported even higher costs owing to the logistical burden to get gas on site, Lindell said. That’s making fuel efficiency more important for customers when they set demands for equipment, he said.

“I would not be surprised if we see a CV90 with hybrid electric drive in the near future,” Lindell said. “We are talking 10 percent to 30 percent fuel reduction.”

Fuel efficiency is not the only or even primary benefit, he said. The hybrid-electric approach would also provide a power boost to get the 30-ton vehicle moving.

The hybrid electric combines a standard diesel engine with a battery pack to provide extra power to propel the vehicle or provide additional electricity. The technology may form part of a BAE push to win a contract for about 600 vehicles in Poland with local supplier Polish Defence Holding, Lindell said.