Having read and experienced quite a bit of electric mobility and battery technology I have a couple of question regarding the problem of energy consumptions. As jcustis has put it:
1) From what I understand most 'future combat systems' introduce and spread new capabilities which consume additional energy. Far more tactical information with additional elements like tablets/smartphones as well as additional battery-powered things like thermal scopes. From my humble point of view it seems that at the current state those projects should increase the battery load considerably, especially for longer missions. Any ideas on that?
2) The energy densities for batteries increased over the last two decades at about 7-10% per year with prices coming down even sharper. This positive trend offers high incentives to replace the batteries of various systems at a rather rapid pace. Is this happening?
3) The demand for energy comes from many different, isolated system with many different batteries. The latter increases considerably the load compared to a few standardized ones for obvious reasons. How far are we down that route?
I have another couple of points on my mind, for example recharging, but will leave it there for now.
I'm pretty sure that in decades if not centuries to come that aspect of the combat load, just as the overall one, will be a big topic. Technological advances offer opportunities to lighten it but add true and perceived needs which still will have to be handled properly with good leadership and METT-TC in mind.
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