WASHINGTON, D.C. — Army scientists and engineers are developing ways to reuse water, power devices without generators, and fight in the littorals all while remembering that nature always has a say in the outcome of any military operation.
Much of that work is being done at the Army’s Engineer Research Development Center, under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which brought a group of scientists to the annual Association of the U.S. Army Meeting and Exposition here Monday.
As the service adds more systems, technology and especially digital electronic equipment to its portfolio, deployed units face serious challenges to powering all that gear. Generators work, but they’re heavy, bulky and most require another fuel source to create electrical power.
Enter the H2Rescue vehicle. It’s an emergency vehicle that runs on hydrogen-powered fuel cells that can generate 25kw of power, replacing generators. The vehicle can travel 1,500 miles with one tank of fuel.
Not only does that cut the number of generators, said Nicholas Josefik, with the development center’s Construction Engineer Laboratory, it also means a reduced need for technicians to set up and maintain extensive generator-run power systems.
The platform serves as a rescue vehicle to provide power and carries a heating and cooling station for treating cold or overheating soldiers, it also can provide clean water.
The setup isn’t isolated to this specific vehicle, Josefik said it could be built onto other platforms.
Dr. Martin Page, a materials engineer in the center’s Cold Regions Research Lab, focuses on getting the most out of each drop of water by using technology to reuse water in certain systems.
Water is the nonreplaceable item needed for hydration and sanitation during any field operation. But water can be reused and making that part of standard operation can reduce water demand by 30 to 50%. The portable shower and laundry facilities now in use can reclaim up to 75% of the water they use. The All H20 system was demonstrated in the Army’s Project Convergence exercise in 2022 and in more recent fieldwork at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Martin said.
Next steps include a system that can draw potable water from the air. Some commercial systems are having success in humid environments, Martin said.
Heather Speight, a physical scientist at the research center’s Geospatial Center, works on planning tools that help commanders evaluate operational risks that come from climate change.
She pointed to Europe, where moving troops and equipment around the theater requires assessing airports, seaports and large city infrastructure. All these face challenges if there is major flooding from weather events or sea level rise. Even climate migration, where severe droughts, earthquakes or other emergencies can cause a mass migration of people to city centers could clog up any operation that requires troops or supplies to travel through the same systems.
The software they’re developing in Speight’s center also helps planners visualize water security and quality in their immediate area.
Dr. Katherine Brodie, senior research oceanographer, works in the center’s Littoral Zone Remote Sensing Group.
That means her team is finding ways to better map the shallow water and beach environments where soldiers might find themselves across vast regions of the Pacific.
That’s more than tracking the tides.
Weather patterns, dynamic underwater environments, currents and depths can all change in hours, sometimes minutes. Big shifts in depth can change what kinds of ships can reach shore and how equipment is offloaded for an assault, refueling station or other critical items for military operations.
Old methods of sending human divers to measure depths and current speeds are not as fast, accurate, or effective nor do they cover enough area to be useful for fast-paced operations.
Brodie’s team is developing remote analysis tools that pull from public data as well as drones and sensor units they can use at their level to check conditions in their area, she said. This is vital when major operations depend on precise timing, such as when troops arrive just as jamming has fouled an enemy satellite at the same time the tide is high enough to reach the shore.
It’s all about alignment.
“Ensure that the other available domain windows line up with Mother Nature’s windows,” Brodie said.
Current systems work well on standard shorelines and sandy beaches. But future operations may require troops to tackle rocky reef-type shores and arctic littoral zones.
Author: Todd South
Source: DefenseNews
