An Assessment of the Challenges Associated with Individual Battlefield Power: Addressing the Power Budget Burdens of the Warfighter and Squad
Abstract
New capabilities have increased the demand and weight of individual battlefield power (IBP) in both the individual warfighters and the small units at the squad level. The warfighters now carry increasingly burdensome power sources and/or operate at less time with the full services of their electrically powered enablers. A number of DOD programs seek to counter this by providing more efficient and interoperable gear with lighter and less bulky power sources. This annotated briefing identifies the most significant challenges and enablers over the next five years to the power budget of the individual and the squad-level joint warfighter. The briefing also recognizes Service requirements, objectives, and metrics; key materiel and non-materiel initiatives; and energy-related capability trade-offs. It addresses trends in warfighter loads and squad power requirements, all of which are currently unsustainable. Finally, the team's recommendations focus on relative importance of requirements, energy technologies, non-materiel approaches, system interoperability priorities, and metrics to help prioritize tradeoffs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA608764
Entities
People
- Alec Wahlman
- Christopher T. Clavin
- Daniel M. Georgi
- James R. Ayers
- Russell A. Keller
Organizations
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs