BAE Systems is demonstrating a prototype common modular power system (CMPS) this week at the National Defense Industrial Association’s Power and Energy Symposium.
CMPS is designed to supply electricity to power on-board components, for example, communications, electronic warfare, situational awareness and vehicle prognostics and diagnostics, in military tactical wheeled vehicles. The system has been tested on a High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV).
‘We developed this system in response to an urgent need to provide more power for vehicles in the field,’ said Hank McGlyn, vice-president of Vehicle Systems for BAE Systems. ‘This prototype clearly demonstrates the feasibility of field retrofitting a HMMWV to provide significant levels of additional electric power for both on-board and exportable power needs.’
The system uses a permanent magnet generator to deliver up to 400 amps of 28V DC electric power at low engine speed, which can be expanded to provide up to 30 kilowatts of AC power for use in the field.
BAE Systems said that the CMPS could be used to power electric automotive systems that were traditionally belt-driven, such as water pumps, engine fans, power steering pumps and air conditioning. It also claimed that the electrification of the components improved fuel economy and vehicle performance, as well as increased the useful life of a vehicle.
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