Alternative Fuels Are Not the Army’s Style
Someone in the greenie world is displeased and angst-ridden because the Army is still using carbon-based fuels (diesel, kerosene, gasoline) as a means of maneuvering about on the battlefield in warfare, never mind at sea. If you can read the entire article without falling off your chair laughing, you’re on the right track.
https://defence-blog.com/news/army/u-s-army-still-relies-on-carbon-based-fuels-report-says.html/amp
From that article: The U.S. Army still relies on carbon-based fuels, which will likely remain the primary fuel, according to a report released by Dr. David J. Gorsich and Dr. André Boehman.
Army’s chief scientist for ground vehicle systems Dr. David J. Gorsich and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, director of the university’s Walter E. Lay Automotive Laboratory André Boehman noted in its report that the Army’s requirement calls for the highest energy-density fuel combined with the lowest mass and volume—and gasoline and diesel still win over alternative energy.
Army scientists’ report examined why isn’t the U.S. Army using alternative forms of energy and powertrains more extensively to reduce fuel usage for its vehicles? – article (That is very, very, very badly written. – Ye Ed.)
Why? Well, mostly because alternative energy sources are fine for static equipment and facilities, such as housing, bases, and for POVs that can reach recharging stations, but just how many of those recharging stations will the troops find in a war zone? Hmmmm?
So just to make sure that, while we have a fleet of nuke-powered aircraft carriers that don’t have to refuel for 20 years, and nuke submarines which can remain at sea for 30 years without refueling, the understanding should be clear that the US military uses whatever it needs to get the job done, while the petty whiners are in their corners, quivering in angst-ridden fits and mouthing those “why???” whines.
There are also people who think our Navy still floats battleships at sea, so just for fun, I’ve included a link to an article with the Missouri shooting off the Big Guns while underway.
https://www.military.com/video/guns/naval-guns/battleship-uss-missouri-shock-awe/2851464322001
I think we should revive the battleships. They’ll really piss off the Chinese with naval envy. Awesome stuff.
Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Army
Fuels, maybe not. But the Army did go to great lengths to make a “green friendly” bullet that destroys the weapons it is fired in. No lead on ranges, but your gun starts cracking and shedding parts after a few thousand rounds of M855A1 ammo.
I have to admire the attempt. Despite the label of “green bullet” , it was a serious attempt to make 5.56mm more effective and more lethal.
Apparently, they also found the edge of the envelope of well-worn mil-spec M-16/M-4 weapons. Oops.
Confucius say, those who attempt to reinvent the wheel end up in same place with expensive wheel.
The A1 was a great attempt but had poor execution the whole way through, the KaBooms should have been the last straw, yet….
There was a far better alternative in the MK318 SOST round the Marines and Navy were using. It was a barrier blind round, and very effective as compared to the M855 series. Not sure how “green” it was, but the rest of the military was wanting to go to it. And it didn’t blow up the weapons it is fired in. I got hold of a couple thousand of the MK318 slugs and have been reloading them. Tremendous.
The 318 is fantastic stuff, even the ‘off the shelf’ option Mk262 would be a vast improvement.
But my beloved Army can’t be bothered to achieve a standard. Some moron needed a, um, bullet point on their evaluation, so the A1 was the result. The continuation of ‘one round (system) to rule them all!’, after almost 70 years they’d f’ing stop looking for magic beans…
They pushed the limit so far and still went over when the answer was right freaking there all ‘long.
And Big Army calls itself “green.” Pfffft. Olive drab, maybe.
Go electric, Army. Just plug that main battle tank into the nearest outlet and recharge- done!
OD is a shade of green. It’s just not the environmentalists’ “preferred shade”.
Army alternative fuel:
Drinking Ripits instead of coffee.
Rip It is pretty good, and relatively cheap. Local Air Force commissary no longer carries it though. Reign & Bang have replaced it. More expensive, but lots of different flavors, no sugars, and a whopping 300mg of caffeine in a 16oz can.
What ever country our Troops are in, those countries use carbon based fuels which we also can use.
Some army vehicles do run on alternative fuels, ie. M39a2 can run on diesel, kerosene, regular gas/oil mixture. I had looked at buying one several years ago but didn’t “pull the trigger.”
“Alternative Fuels”? When I was in A-stan, we mainly used JP8 instead of Diesel Fuel in our trucks, so there!!
There will ALWAYS be some dissatisfied idiot out there ranting. I still remember Al Gore Junior screeching for the US Military to use hybrid trucks.
It makes sense for the smaller utility vehicles to use a hybrid type system, as mentioned in the article, but the big heavy armored ones can’t quite cut it with anything but diesel. It would be great to slap a hybrid powertrain in a Tank and be quiet as a church mouse while we sit in hull defilade to ambush an unsuspecting enemy…yet be able to scoot to another location almost instantly (no jet engine spool up… and smoke plume required)!
The Army was seriously looking at those small atomic energy reactors (thorium) for its bases to get rid of noisy diesel generators. But they don’t quite work as well as all those Youtubers say they do!
There was a push about 20 years ago to make everything in the Army run on battery. That away sometime around when the GWOT kicked off.
Dumbasses. The same variables that we discussed on the thread about the Brits fuel situation is what we have here. When someone comes up with a fuel AND a vehicle that delivers the same level of service that a fossil fueled internal combustion engine does, then we can talk. Until then, sit down, shut up, and quit trying to ruin my Army.
Kool video of the Floating Artillery Platform, Mi’Lady…TANKS!