The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is likely to follow the U.S. Army’s lead on tactical electrical vehicles–those designed or modified to military specification for training and combat operations, an Air Force official said on March 6.
“On the EV piece, my general sense is that the DAF will be taking a measured approach,” Assistant Air Force Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment Ravi Chaudhary told an Air & Space Forces Association forum.
“We have to make sure that we have the right infrastructure, but it also comes with understanding the rate at which our market is moving in electrical vehicles, and, of course, we’re talking about non-tactical vehicles at this point because there’s the broader question of tactical vehicles, and we’re gonna follow the Army’s footsteps in this area,” he said. “But, when it comes to non-tactical vehicles, [DAF is] taking a measured approach/understanding how the market is reacting going forward. There are indicators out there that certain companies will only be producing EVs by 2035 so that presents us with a reality of how we’re going to contend with that demand signal going forward. Being measured about it, not investing too much, but investing the right amount, I think, in general–starting with infrastructure, is what the DAF is doing right now.”
DoD–the largest fuel consumer in the federal government–is to have an all electric or zero-emission non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2035.
The Army has said that it plans to field its first hybrid-electric tactical vehicles in 2035 followed by fully-electric platforms in 2050 (Defense Daily, Feb. 27). The service is to start building hybrid-electric Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) and Humvee prototypes no earlier than 2028.
The Army-led Joint Program Office JLTV last month published a market survey to develop requirements for potential production of light tactical wheeled hybrid-electric vehicles.
In November 2020, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio said that it was working with the Army to buy 3,230 Oshkosh Defense [OSK] JLTVs through 2045 to replace up-armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles–Humvees.