Leonardo shows off On Board Vehicle Power system with THAAD launcher

WASHINGTON — Leonardo DRS successfully demonstrated its On Board Vehicle Power system, which can route electrical power from a vehicle to a weapon system, in a recent U.S. Army operational user assessment focused on battlefield power generation and management, the company announced Monday.

The OBVP system integrates with an Allison transmission and generates electrical power that can be routed to a weapon, another vehicle or a power grid. Through this system, a medium tactical vehicle outfitted with OBVP can generate up to 55kW of usable electrical power while moving or up to 125kW power while stationary, according to the company’s news release.

For the demonstration, Leonardo DRS installed the system on the THAAD Launch Control Station Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, the Tactical Operation Station FMTV and the THAAD Launcher Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck.

The assessment took place at McGregor Range in New Mexico and was the final event of the Secure Tactical Advance Mobile Power Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration sponsored by Army Futures Command.

“This successful demonstration once again showed how vehicle-based electrical power generation can be employed in remote areas where the concern about contested logistics is a reality,” Bill Guyan, the senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS’ Land Electronics business unit, said in the news release.

He added the system will reduce logistics requirements and costs for deployed units and give “users clean electrical power anywhere, and anytime.”

OBVP has been featured in previous demonstrations and evaluations for other Army and Marine Corps units, and the company says it will improve mission readiness with no impact to the functionality of the vehicle providing power.

Leonardo told Defense News the company is supporting prototype efforts today for a number of pairings. For the Missile Defense Agency, it’s powering THAAD through the FMTV and HEMTT vehicles used in the recent demonstration. For the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, it’s powering the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon through the FMTV and HMMWV vehicles. For the Aviation and Missile Center, it’s powering the Mobile Radar with the FMTV vehicle. And for the Ground Vehicle Systems Center, it’s using the FMTV for vehicle electrification and vehicle-to-grid transfers.

In addition to powering weapons, Leonardo pitches the system as powering mobile command posts, tactical or combat operations centers, field hospitals, fueling stations and more.

A slide from the project manager for transportation systems shows the Army is looking at continued prototyping work in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 before moving into OBVP production in FY26 and FY27.