BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90120 medium tank takes shape
The new vehicle will be based on the CV90 Mk IV chassis and turret, and will be armed with a Rheinmetall 120mm L44A1 low recoil smoothbore gun.
GE Aviation will develop and demonstrate silicon carbide-based power electronics capable of supporting high-voltage ground vehicle electrical power architectures under a $2.1 million contract from the US Army announced on 15 March.
The contract will see the company undertake an 18-month development programme to demonstrate the benefits of its Silicon Carbide MOSFET technology combined with Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices in a 15kW, 28VDC/600VDC bi-directional converter.
GE expects the hardware to provide twice the power in less than 50% of the volume of present silicon-based power electronics. In addition, the converters will be able to operate in parallel and be CANbus programmable.
The contract is in support of the US Army's TARDEC next generation vehicle electrical power architecture leap-ahead technology development. It will result in a technology demonstration in mid-2017.
Vic Bonneau, president of electrical power systems, GE Aviation, said: ‘The US Army's implementation of silicon carbide technology for high voltage, more electric ground vehicles, facilitates significant improvements in size, weight and power for high temperature applications.
‘We have multiple silicon carbide based power conversion products in development and continue to invest in this area. Successes to date have led to this new application that will enable the US Army to better manage on-board power and simplify the vehicle cooling architecture. Ultimately, this product will increase mission capability for the warfighter.’
The new vehicle will be based on the CV90 Mk IV chassis and turret, and will be armed with a Rheinmetall 120mm L44A1 low recoil smoothbore gun.
Speaking in the UK Parliament, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said possible changes in the country’s steelmaking industry will have little impact on defence projects; while much of the steel in British vehicles and ships is imported.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the arrival of more Patriot air defence systems in his country. The development follows the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha calling for 10 more systems last month and Zelenskyy reiterating the need for more.
The country’s air defence batteries will be equipped with new command posts, wheeled communication nodes and radios. The system itself is in service with more than 14 countries with 13 systems in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s quest to replace soldiers with robots is hitting technical snags. Shephard spoke with industry leaders about difficulties in the field and what solutions are in the pipeline.
The partnership between Croatia’s DOK-ING and Slovenia’s Valhalla Turrets reflects an effort to combine ground robots and with improved capabilities and new roles and follows Rheinmetall presenting its Ox with Dispatch charging docks from Valinor.