Jalopnik
Popular Mechanics reports on The US Army's new a hybrid-electric drivetrain, which is battery-dominant and employs a diesel engine as generator. It's the driving force behind the Aggressor, the latest in a string of prototype alternative mobility vehicles (AMVs) for military ground operations requiring speed and stealth, such as recon and surveillance. By way of the e-motor's massive torque, the Aggressor can get from zero to 40 mph in four seconds and tops out at 80 mph. It also sports a "silent mode" giving the high-tech jeep a lower thermal signature, and making it less detectable to night vision specs. And maybe if it proves itself on the mean streets of Baghdad, some rich Austrian dude will order one for civilian use, sparking a revolution in the SUV market. Hey, it could happen.
Army's Diesel-Electric 'Aggressor' Vehicle Could Be Iraq's First Hybrid [Popular Mechanics via Carscoop]
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Comments
Aggressor is right. That front end has me scared shitless.
i bet it looks real cool when it transforms.
/just peed my pants a little
I hope that's not the final armor package because if it is, crazy bobs IED clearance warehouse is going to have a great year.
Love the ammo can mounted to the sill.
@wohho: Yeah, zero to 40 in four seconds is quick, but muzzle velocities are a tad quicker. But props for being the badassiest golf cart taxpayer money can buy.
The protection that that offers from small-arms fire let alone shaped charges and the odd remotely detonated mortar round seems a little inadequate.
The South Africans can frankly do better than that. and to take a page from the UN, vehicles that look non-threatening get shot at less.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RG-31
http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News&file=ar...
If this ever makes it to deployment, which I doubt (see every other piece of military equipment Popular Mechanics has featured in recent history) I hope they make it look less terrifying. Hearts and minds and all that.
It needs to be able to consume insurgents and operate only on their blood. Thats efficiency.
haven't read Pop Mech since i was 14. Sure, there's always a kernel of truth in what they publish, but their "future tech" coverage is a bunch of tall tales. Their military stuff is nothing but sci-fi sensationalism.
I have a couple of friends that work at US Army TACOM (Tank Automotive Command) that I can ask about this. I'm sure that's only the base platform.
HAHA! I haven't seen a more stereotypical PCV in a long time. With the big frowny brows and grotesque underbite, it looks like nothing more than Spike the bulldog from the Tom and Jerry cartoons.
@my favorite car is a motorcycle: Ya mean like 90% of the concept cars we see here on the Jalop?
Cool. Now THAT'S a hybrid I'll buy.
@JayP71: it is rather "manly" in a Freddy Krueger way...
Is it me or do I see a wide tracked jeep in there?
@wohho:
lol. when i saw the headline, i thought it would be some souped up hummer-ish design. Then I scrolled down and saw the picture. Same opionion as you. The weight of the armor is probably replaced by the weight of the batteries.
I see it, and can't help but think a little bit of the Warthog from Halo.
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