"An electric tank? Army sees multiple advantages ..." Topic

…in dumping fossil fuels.

"Electric cars are seen by many as an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, escape the tyranny of rising fossil fuel costs and put an end to trips to the petrol station, but one Australian army major says that the opportunity for Australia's defence forces is mostly pragmatic. And it could save lives.

Major Matthew Wood, a Royal Australian electrical and mechanical engineer currently posted to the Directorate of Land Force Design, Future Land Warfare Branch at Army Headquarters, says it is in the interests of Australia's defence forces to look at electric and autonomous vehicles…."

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Amicalement
Armand

Gonna need a very, very long extension cord for it.

I imagine they could swap out batteries faster than tanking up with liquid fuel, but how long is it going to take to recharge them? And what kind of range will the batteries provide?

If you can swap batteries that fast, that means they are easily accessible. And easily accessible means not protected by armor. And then it's going to take all day to recharge those drained batteries.

Look, the battery pack in a Tesla weighs about 1200lbs. it's not easy to move that much weight around, and a tank is going to need probably 10x that much battery, maybe even more. So you're talking about hot-swapping 6+ tons of batteries!

old school diesel-electric (the so-called Series Hybrid), where the diesel turns a generator and an electric motor turns the wheels/tracks is much more reliable and faster to refuel.

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Who's worried about emissions during a war?

I can see it now, air strikes are denied due to emission limits for the day.

I think what we really need to focus on are explosives that produce little to no smoke and other gases (especially nukes). That is the future of "environmentally-friendly warfare".

Remember, you read it here first.

I agree with Lion, the hybrid is the way forward. Diesel-electric, hydrogen electric, and/or even plasma electric. Anything that can get the job done, reduce the POL requirements and be cost effective will be welcomed. Autonomous and/or drone's all have to operate in the electromagnetic spectrum and will be subject to interference. As with all good ideas, "Use electric because it helps the environment", sounds nice, but the key is where is the electricity to come from?