Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Australian All Terrain Lightweight Electric Military Vehicles

While at UNSW Canberra today to borrow some library books, I noticed a display of electric and autonomous military vehicles. It is not that unusual as this is also the campus of the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA). One product was the Tomcar Military spec v4, with the electric drive option. This looks like a cross between a dune buggy and a golf cart and is made by the Australian company Tomcar.

The electric version is very quiet, which is useful for military operations. But I suggest it needs a synthetic engine noise which can be switched on to make it safer for everyday use, to warn pedestrians.

These type of military buggies, usuals with conventional diesel engines, are popular with the military, where their usual vehicles have become too big to be transported to the battlefield, to complex to be maintained and too expensive to procure.

Tomcar might consider making an articulated, or double articulated version. This would have the electric vehicle at the front, with a trailer for the crew. It would be narrow enough to be transported in a helicopters or small military transport aircraft. As the trailer would have no front wheels, it would be more resistant to mine blasts.

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