Mil-Tech

Military Fuel Cell Shipments to Reach 272,000 Units Annually by 2017, According to Pike Research

The U.S. military is the single largest consumer of energy in the world. As such, the volatility of the international oil markets represents a significant strategic risk to the operational capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces. Realizing the need to mitigate this strategic vulnerability, U.S. military leaders are actively promoting the development of new technologies, including fuel cells. The increased emphasis on energy security and efficiency, particularly under the complex and challenging operational conditions encountered in remote battlefield environments such as Afghanistan, represents a significant opportunity for fuel cell manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). According to a recent report from Pike Research, shipments of fuel cells for military applications will increase to more than 272,000 in 2017, from just over 1,200 in 2011.

That will translate into revenues of $1.2 billion for military fuel cells in 2017, up from only $9 million in 2011, the cleantech market intelligence firm finds.

“Fuel cells will be used in a range of applications by military agencies, including stationary power, mobile electric power, auxiliary power units, unmanned vehicles, and non-tactical vehicles,” says research director Kerry-Ann Adamson. “The largest opportunities for military fuel cells, however, lie in soldier wearable and portable power applications for devices such as radios, ruggedized computers, and night-vision goggles, in which fuel cells are primarily used as a replacement for portable batteries, and in power for unmanned sensors and surveillance systems.”

The strongest drivers for the adoption of fuel cells by the world’s armed forces are performance and energy density, particularly for use by individual troopers. On average, each soldier carries around nine pounds of disposable batteries in their kit, used for powering a range of portable electronics such as imaging and communications equipment. The burden on today’s soldiers to carry more and more high-tech equipment is increasing, and the batteries required to power all this equipment already constitutes an impractical percentage of total weight. Fuel cells, with a far greater energy density than conventional military batteries, represent an excellent means of lightening the load for soldiers and systems in the field.

Nevertheless, fuel cell manufacturers face formidable barriers in their pursuit of the military market. Military users are the world’s most demanding customers for fuel cells and, while they will be less price sensitive than the commercial market in the near term, their performance and production scale requirements may ultimately prove too difficult for some vendors to meet.

Pike Research’s report, “Fuel Cells for Military Applications”, examines the stationary, transport, and portable power applications for fuel cell technologies currently being explored and validated by the U.S. Department of Defense, including a detailed analysis of market drivers as well as potential barriers to adoption. Forecasts through 2017 are also provided for those technologies and applications that are deemed as offering a realistic possibility of being deployed within that timeframe. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

Pike Research: www.pikeresearch.com

US Army adopts new breed of robotic battle vehicles

Created by Lockheed Martin, the Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) is “the largest autonomous vehicle to ever be deployed with infantry,” said Lockheed in announcement released today.

The Lockheed Martin SMSS leverages robotic technologies for unmanned transport and logistical support for light, early entry and special operations forces. It solves capability gaps by lightening the Soldier’s load and serving as a power management resource.

The SMSS will decrease the amount of time a Warfighter has to spend in controlling robotic systems by providing vehicles that can navigate autonomously. The SMSS’ supervised autonomy will provide the Warfighter with a reliable squad-size vehicle which will improve combat readiness, while assuring re-supply channels and casualty evacuations.

Combining perception with extraordinary mobility allows vehicles to follow the Warfighter across most terrain, guaranteeing the payload the robotic system is carrying will be available whenever and wherever the Warfighter needs it. Few other robotic systems allow for autonomy dependable enough for a vehicle to follow someone without the use of location-disclosing beacons. The vehicle can also operate by remote control, tele-operation or by manual control.

User-proven autonomy
SMSS is executing a contract for the U.S. Army to provide the SMSS as a portable power solution complementing the NettWarrior Soldier technology package. SMSS provided self-sustaining portable power, Soldier battery recharge and logistics support for infantry during user testing in November, 2010.

The system’s dependable autonomous technology has garnered three safety releases by the U.S. Army to work in close proximity around Soldiers. SMSS continues to log hundreds of hours with Army users as the system matures and is prepared for deployment:

• Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment, Spiral E, 2008
• Military Utility Assessment, Fort Benning, 2009
• Limited User Test – Portable Power, Ft. Riley, 2010
• Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment, Spiral G, 2011
• Military Utility Assessment, Afghanistan, 2011 (anticipated)

Unmanned capabilities
The long-term vision of this system can accommodate armed variants, while improving its reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capabilities within the concept of supervised autonomy. A squad-size manned or unmanned support vehicle is critical to today’s asymmetrical and urban battlefields.

Lockheed Martin’s experience in unmanned systems is unmatched with proven capabilities across all domains including air, land, sea and space. An integrated systems-of-systems approach allows Lockheed Martin to meet the challenges of network-centric warfare where both manned and unmanned technologies work collaboratively, increasing the affordability of the technology, the efficiency of the total force and ultimately, the success of their missions.