Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives
Why the military loves electric vehicles
The video above is an electric buggy made for the military. The military likes electric cars and it's not because they emit fewer green house gases. They are quiet, something Simpson's creator Matt Groening also enjoys. He likes to sneak up on people in parking lots with his Prius in EV mode, then honk his horn. The military likes to do that too ... just not the horn part. They replace the horn with something else.
We recently wrote about the first hybrid tank. The military has also asked for green power in the field. They are also the largest buyer of green power. They are even developing bio-fuel jet fuel. At that rate, it's very possible the next iconic electric vehicle may be from the military. The US military is not known for downsizing, so I would not expect such a vehicle to die like the EV1 either. Soon, when people think EV, they may think military.
[Source: Wired and tipster Domenick]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lascelles Linton 3:13PM (9/07/2007)
You are right. But it looks like a tank.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-propelled_artillery
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Mike 4:00PM (9/07/2007)
BTW, your tank example is not a tank. It's mobile artillery.
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Murc 8:34PM (9/07/2007)
nice.
The military would love to have all electric, not to please the tree huggers, but because oil prices are constantly on the rise. Oil is the life blood on our country...so much so, that life would grind to a halt without it, and are military would be worthless without it.
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Alex 9:27AM (9/10/2007)
where will they be sourcing the electricity from? i've never been on the front lines but i get the feeling outlets are hard to come by.
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Bovis 3:33AM (10/09/2007)
The military is in the process of developing all kinds of alternate power sources. Solar, wind, hydrogen, you name it... the military is working on it. If you can think of something the military is not working on and make it a feasable source of power, than DARPA will give you a whole lot of money.
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