Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today

While the APD is currently being tested in a Bradley M2, the powerplant and electronic gear can be configured for use in the Army's M1 Abrams Tank.

Just announced by the U.S. Army, a stone's throw away from "Motor City," is the Advanced Powertrain Demonstrator (APD), a modular, compact, and configurable new diesel engine with a 160 kw integrated generator that has the ability to power advanced electronics, weapons systems, and even move a 50-ton vehicle for short distances. The APD is currently installed in a Bradley M2 Armored Personal Carrier for testing and if all goes according to plan it could be rolled out to a variety of vehicles in the Army's arsenal sometime in the future.

Developed and built by Cummins and Achates Power, the Advanced Combat Engine is part of an Army initiative to bring cutting edge technologies to current and future mobility platforms. The engine uses an innovative two-stroke diesel system with opposed cylinders, drive by wire transmission, a cooling system with Donaldson pump jets replacing bulky and constantly clogging air filters, and the L3 Harris Integrated Starter Generator producing 160 kw for lasers, communication gear, display systems, and radio jammers.

While the APD is presently being tested in a stationary Bradley M2, the powerplant and electronic gear can be configured for use in the Army's M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank or down to a host of smaller manned and unmanned robotic vehicles. Additionally, components of the system might be adapted as standalone units for use in other applications.

With the completion of Technological Readiness Levels 1-5 (TRL), and 6 due to be wrapped up in March 2020, the final two steps of complete driveability and systems integration will occur between 2020 to 2022. The Army then expects to put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Bradley replacement in 2023, which is slated to be powered by the Advanced Power Demonstrator. Buckle up.

Born and bred New Yorker, bon vivant and raconteur. Traveled extensively throughout the continental U.S. While I used to street race in my 1971 Boss 351 Mustang, I now take pleasure hypermiling in my Honda Insight, tending to my garden, reading, cooking and audiophilia.