Eco-Innovation Technology Company Ricardo has been awarded a contract to develop a new vehicle under the Fuel Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator programme for the US Army.
Known as the FED programme, it was launched in late 2008 with the goal of improving military vehicle technology while reducing fuel consumption on the battlefield and cutting the nation’s dependence on oil.
By applying its expertise, Ricardo will aim to develop and manufacture a demonstration vehicle that maximises fuel economy while maintaining the capability and performance of light tactical wheeled vehicles.
According to Paul Luskin, Ricardo’s chief programme engineer for the programme, the project is a testament to Ricardo’s experience in supporting military vehicles.
“The FED project leverages Ricardo’s experience and success in supporting the development of a broad range of military vehicles over several years,” he said. “In particular, TARDEC has recognised Ricardo’s role on the Future Tactical Truck System, in which we successfully implemented advanced technology into an innovative vehicle architecture.
“Our objectives include not only training embedded government engineers in order to enhance TARDEC’s vehicle engineering capability, but also educating government staff on the issues relating to fuel economy, including implementation of technology and trade-offs in performance requirements.”
The contract is for the second phase of the programme and follows on from the initial phase in which Ricardo applied its total vehicle fuel economy systems to evaluate current and emerging technologies that could improve the fuel efficiency of the entire vehicle. The efforts drew on Ricardo’s expertise across a variety of fields including hybrid propulsion, transmissions, driveline systems, controls and electronics.
