14.10.2008 Phalanx on HEMTT

Raytheon and Oshkosh have teamed up to build a prototype defensive system by placing a rapid-fire, area-defense Phalanx gun on the back of a diesel-electric, 14-ton Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). The diesel-electric HEMTT saves 20 percent more fuel; a diesel engine drives a generator which then drives electric drive motors to propel the vehicle. The Phalanx requires a significant amount of electrical power to operate, which is part of the reason why the gun is now outfitted on the back of a diesel-electric HEMTT, which is able to bring 120 kilowatts of clean, military-grade exportable power to the battlefield.

So if you are positioning the vehicle with more maneuver forces or command centers that need to be mobile, those sorts of things would benefit from having a vehicle that does not have to tow generators but can carry the equipment it needs and has its exportable power directly built into the vehicle. The traditional trailer is transportable by C-17 only one at a time, whereas three to four HEMTT A3s with a Phalanx can fit on a C-17.

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