Maj Corydon Cusack, USMC

Audiobook

A general knowledge base of power will facilitate the reader’s understanding of the application of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy to supporting U.S. Marine Corps forces during expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO). The industry standard power measurement is in units known as kilowatts (kW). A kilowatt hour (kWh) is how much energy it takes to run a 1- kilowatt system for one hour, equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ).¹ There are 1,000 watts in one kilowatt, and there are 1,000 kilowatts in one megawatt (MW).
 

Relating power requirements to a standard commercial electric car and a solar-powered civilian home will offer a foundation for the energy demands of a military tactical vehicle and a military combat operations center (COC). A Tesla Model 3 electrical vehicle has a battery capacity of 50 kilowatt hours and can operate for up to approximately 265 kilometers.² An average home outfitted with a solar panel system will use 30 kilowatt hours of energy per day.³ In comparison, an average battalion-size military COC requires a regular supply of power from a 20-kilowatt generator.⁴ Comparing the ultralight Polaris MRZR all-terrain tactical vehicle to the U.S. military’s family of ultralight vehicles and the Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) to the U.S. military’s family of light vehicles highlights the energy requirements of a Marine littoral regiment (MLR). The MRZR X is Polaris’s first hybrid vehicle, with a like-vehicle containing a lithium-ion battery with a 14.9-kilowatt-hour capacity.⁵ Oshkosh recently developed a hybrid version of the JLTV with a 30-kilowatt-hour battery and that boasts a fully organic recharge ability within 30 minutes.⁶ Table 1 in the main article succinctly manifests the aforementioned power requirements for an MLR and focuses on the quantities derived from the analysis of table of organization and equipment charts.

Endnotes