Leonardo DRS On-Board Vehicle Power to Improve Electrical Power System on Army Command Post Vehicles

To meet the Army’s expeditionary mobile power needs, OBVP systems are integrated with the vehicle transmission to generate up to 55kW of usable electrical power while on the move or up to 120kW of usable electrical power while stationary. The Leonardo DRS OBVP system has proven it can increase battlefield mobility, reduce deployment logistics footprint and costs, and improve mission flexibility with no impacts to vehicle functionality or operational readiness.

A 2016 U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) Vehicle to Grid (V2G) study reported a 23% fuel savings over Tactical Quiet Generators when employing OBVP technology for grid power.

In development since 2008, Leonardo DRS OBVP systems have successfully performed in various technical demonstrations and evaluations to include the Army Expeditionary Warfare Experiment, Network Integration Evaluation and the U.S. Marine Corps Limited User Test.  It is now a mature, off-the-shelf system that is ready to address mission power requirements.

“As the Army embarks on its aggressive modernizations efforts, the proven OBVP system can act as a critical enabler, providing previously unavailable levels of mobile power generation for the development and fielding of next generation capabilities,” said Bill Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS Land Electronics. “The Leonardo DRS and Allison Transmission partnership on OBVP technology is strong and ready to support the Army in addressing the long-standing vehicle integrated power gap. We continue to be encouraged and support the leadership of the DoD, specifically the Army Futures Command and the Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), in demonstrating this needed technology to address the multitude of emerging requirements of Multi Domain Operations,” Guyan said.

Leonardo DRS, partnered with Allison Transmission, plan to jointly provide existing OBVP systems based on the Allison 3200 SP transmission for Command Post vehicles. 

To date, Leonardo DRS OBVP technology has been integrated on various medium-class tactical platforms, it can support the Stryker, FMTV, M-ATV, MRAP and HMMWV vehicle types.

OBVP enables the capability to generate power far beyond the Army’s current vehicle power capability, the system is ready and able to support Mission Command, Command Post, Missile Systems, Maneuver SHORAD, Directed Energy Systems and High Energy Laser programs; improving battlefield operations with highly reliable, mission assured power, anywhere and anytime.

Work on this program will be conducted at Leonardo DRS’s facilities in Huntsville, AL and Fitchburg, MA. Allison Transmission’s work will be conducted in Indianapolis, IN.

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About Leonardo DRS

Leonardo DRS is a prime contractor, leading technology innovator and supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces, intelligence agencies and defense contractors worldwide. The company specializes in naval and maritime systems, ground combat mission command and network computing, global satellite communications and network infrastructure, avionics systems, and intelligence and security solutions. Additionally, the company builds power systems and electro-optical/infrared systems for a wide range of commercial customers. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Leonardo DRS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. See the full range of capabilities at www.LeonardoDRS.com and on Twitter @LeonardoDRSnews.

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