US Army taps GE for vehicle electronics
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.’
More from Land Warfare
-
![Romania opens the chequebook and reorganises as it watches Russian aggression]()
Romania opens the chequebook and reorganises as it watches Russian aggression
Romania is retiring old systems, some Soviet, and replacing them with western equipment from countries such as Sweden and Turkey and boosting existing modern fleets.
-
![UK fires Archer for first time in live-fire exercise]()
UK fires Archer for first time in live-fire exercise
Exercise Dynamic Front 25 is part of a series of NATO exercises that will run until 26 November.
-
![Milrem picks Texelis for partnership in drive to develop large UGV]()
Milrem picks Texelis for partnership in drive to develop large UGV
Milrem has delivered or is building a total of 200 Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System UGVs and has chosen Texelis as partner in its effort to develop a UGV.
-
![CV90 delivery to Slovakia imminent]()
CV90 delivery to Slovakia imminent
Slovakia is undergoing a radical refresh of its equipment, like many central and eastern European countries, and the arrival of new vehicles will form a substantial part of this.
-
![Mortar mobility: Patria’s TREMOS takes aim at the modern battlespace]()
Mortar mobility: Patria’s TREMOS takes aim at the modern battlespace
In conversation... Patria’s Lauri Pauniaho talks to Shephard's Gerrard Cowan about how high mobility levels are essential for mortar systems in the face of modern counter-battery fire, and how a new platform-agnostic module can combine existing vehicles and mortar barrels into a cost-effective new weapon system.
