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05 Aug 13. Russian Airborne Forces to develop flying hybrid armoured vehicle. The Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) is planning to develop a hybrid combat vehicle by 2030 to help address the modern warfare requirements, the branch’s commander colonel general Vladimir Shamanov has revealed. Shamanov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying that the combat operations of the 2020s to 2030s are certainly expected to demand a combat module featuring both airborne infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and helicopter characteristics. The branch comprising 35,000 personnel deployed in four divisions and a brigade, is also planning to procure advanced Boyevaya Mashina Desanta (BMD)-4M airborne fighting vehicles, Rakushka armoured personnel carriers (APC), and 30mm 2A42 automatic cannon-equipped BTR-82 APCs. In addition to this, an advanced tactical command-and-control (C2) system, called Andromeda-D, is also expected to be gradually introduced in all paratrooper units, according to Shamanov. Speaking to the news agency last week, the commander has told that the branch will also be assigned an additional three air assault brigades from the eastern and southern military districts to enhance its rapid reaction capability in future conflicts, as early as October or November 2013. Fitted with a new chassis, digital fire control system and high-precision weaponry, including a 100mm gun, the BMD-4M is an upgraded variant of BMD-4 airborne combat vehicle, which is designed to provide firepower and support for airborne troops in the battlefield. BTR-MD Rakushka is an amphibious and airportable APC and is primarily used for troop and cargo transport, and also serves as a base for several specialised vehicles. A division-to-soldier system, Andromeda-D features stationary points for commanders down to battalion, and vehicle-mounted systems for tactical units. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
07 Aug 13. BAE Systems Plc, 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. 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. The hybrid technology is derived from the now-canceled SEP vehicle program in Sweden, Lindell said. Work the company has done for commercial applications of the hybrid-electric system, used by Finland’s Konecranes Oyj on a lift truck, will reduce cost, he said. The hybrid-electric approach for the CV90 differs from a concept B