U. S. Army gets diesel hybrid trucks for surveillance, reconnaissance missions

November 11, 9:19 AMGreen Car ExaminerEvelyn Kanter

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Lightweight diesel hybrid truck for U.S. Army clandestine operations
Quantum

The U. S. Army is getting a diesel hybrid vehicle designed specifically for clandestine operations such as reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting missions. It’s all-wheel drive, so it can go anywhere, including the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. And it’s silent, because it is a hybrid, which makes it ideal for clandestine operations.

It’s called the Clandestine Extended Range Vehicle – CERV – and it is made by Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide. This is the same company that introduced a gasoline plug-in-hybrid drive known as the 'Q-Drive' in the Fisker Karma four-door sports sedan. Fisker Automotive was co-founded by Quantum and Henrik Fisker.

Quantum is developing and shipping these diesel hybrid trucks to the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) National Automotive Center (NAC), with funding support through the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).  

The CERV uses an all new, advanced all-wheel-drive diesel hybrid electric powertrain that is secret and exclusive to the U. S. military.  Quantum also designed a purpose-built light-weight chassis for the Q-Force diesel hybrid electric powertrain. According to Quantum, the truck has a torque rating that exceeds 5,000 foot-pounds, can truck along at 80 mph and climb up or down super-steep 60 percent grades.

The Q-Force diesel hybrid powertrain will reduce fuel consumption by up to 25 percent compared with a conventional truck like a Humvee, the vehicle that became the civilian Hummer. So, this fuel efficient has a lower carbon footprint and also lowers what the U. S. Army calls “the fuel logistic burden”. In civilian English, that means fewer supply convoys have to cross dangerous territory. Good for our soldiers, good for the environment. 

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