New Air Force Tanker Tanked

Not long ago an Air Force general stood before me on a conference stage and said something that blew my mind: "the mother of the last KC-135 pilot hasn't been born yet."  And that was before the award to Northrop/BAE, the protest of Boeing, the alleged recompete run by DOD, and today's termination of the procurement on the grounds that there isn't enough time left to get it done before the administration turns over.  Maybe today the same statement holds true except substitute "grandmother" for "mother".  

What a total clusterfxck, for the pilots, for maintenance crews, and for the AF logistics and fuel budgets. Only positive thing I can think of is that maybe the so-called Dreamliner 787, with improved, energy-saving aerodynamics and engines,  can now become the base plane from which the future tanker is derived.  3-times delayed, it has some con's to go with its pro's, as described here.

In the meantime (and it may be a long meantime), there are a few lean fueling efficiency things the Air Force can do to improve fuel utilization on its current yet paleolithic fleet of 500 or so tankers.

US Air Force photo courtesy of MSgt Marvin Krause

Army Working on Hybrid Humvees

Picture above is an XM1124 Hybrid-Electric Humvee on an M1113 Humvee chassis powered by a diesel-series hybrid featuring an all-electric drive train. The Army's been working on again/off again on getting better mileage out of its tactical vehicles. Do a search and you'll see it has terminated as many efforts as it's started. Well, that's research and engineering for you. The performance requirements for a Humvee are a bit different than for a Prius. Not more stringent, necessarily, but definitely different.  Think: survivability.  Here you'll find a smart video on Engineering TV explaining how the hybrid power sytems work on this beast. Two details jumped out from this video for me:

• It can do 6 miles silent patrol mode before the engine has to kick in
  
• 15 Kw generator provides silent power for sensors/comm gear

Acronym translation for the org that's working on this - RDECOM/TARDEC: 

• RDECOM = Research, Development and Engineering Command
  
• TARDEC = Tank, Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center

TARDEC has a conference coming up shortly on tactical hybrids and other approaches to squeezing more miles out a gallon of fuel. You could say their job is to turn GPM vehicles into MPG vehicles.  Keep an eye on here for info on the Fuel Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator and the upcoming industry day on 30 Sep 08 in Michigan.

Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Carnegie @ Flickr

Army Testing Tilt-Rotor Tech

The oft-cited Defense Science Board (DSB) report (see sidebar) says one of its top 3 game changing energy technologies is the replacement of massively energy inefficient helicopters with tilt-rotor craft like the V-22 Osprey. (Note: an earlier post covers one of the other two, the Blended Wing Body aircraft design.)

The DefenseTech blog recently commented on the Army's decision to begin training with the V-22. While the author cites the undeniable tactical advantages: twice the speed and range of helicopters, the DSB and me are also excited about the huge fuel savings the V-22 brings. This is great stuff ... check it out here.

DOD Photo courtesy of Jim Gordon @ Flickr

Gearing Up for Jet Fuel Savings

As noted previously, the Air Force is proving its planes will fly on a half JP-8/half synth fuel blend. This is good news because the synthetic fuel half is derived from non-oil sources, which also means less foreign oil required to keep USAF jets in the air. The bad news is it appears it takes a hell of a lot of energy to make that synth fuel out its various sources, including natural gas, and especially coal.

As Dr. Sohbet Karbuz explains repeatedly on his energy blog, the primary key for DOD is not in switching fuels, but rather, in reducing the amount of fuel that's needed.

Enter the Pratt & Whitney PW8000 turbofan engine. Long in development, its novel use of gears allows it to use 10% less fuel and it brings other costs savings as well. I'm not saying the Air Force's approach is bad. In fact, in an energy security scenario where the US is cut off from its foreign suppliers, it's essential prep work. But there's no debating the merits of more efficient planes (like the 787) and more efficient engines. We've got to keep pushing the efficiency (and conservation) buttons because synth fuels alone are energy intensive to make, and dollar intensive to buy.

Marines Know the Link Between Energy and Mission

Journalist and author Tom Friedman turns his sights on energy in his upcoming book, and Wired Magazine has a short intro piece on it. I particularly like this anecdote, featuring:

a Marine Corps general in Iraq who requested solar panels to power his bases. Asked why, he explained that he wanted to win his region by "out-greening al Qaeda." Instead of trucking in gas from Kuwait at $20 a gallon — money that fuels oppressive petro-dictatorships — in convoys that are vulnerable to roadside bombs, why not beat the insurgents by taking away their targets and their funding?

Reminded me of another USMC general,  Gen James T. Mattis, cited in the Defense Science Board's energy report released earlier this year, as saying: 

"Unleash us from the tether of fuel"

While the Air Force is often seen as out in front for DOD on several new energy initiatives, clearly they have no monopoly on good ideas or on passion for improving current conditions. The Marines, by far the most mobile ground force, care big time about the effects of fuel on their troops and their operations.

Shipping Savings

While the Navy tries its best to design, fund and procure ships to modernize the fleet, the high costs of fuel are undercutting its efforts. Here are two developments that, while doing little to enhance lethality or maneuverability, may help it substantially reduce costs during peacetime operations.

First comes Japanese work on adding solar generation to a 60K ton cargo ship which is estimated to reduce diesel consumption by 6%. Then there's a new wind energy solution that's far afield from T Boone's Texas turbine dreams. A really big kite mounted on a container ship just saved the owners 20% of their fuel costs. Individually we're talking many millions of dollars of savings per year. Together, wind and solar might save enough energy to allow for the purchase of a few new ships that otherwise would not have been attainable.

On a lighter note, I liked this comment from a reader on the site covering the kite technology breakthrough:

Oh, my! Next thing you know they'll install really tall poles on the ships with these crossbeam things and big sheets of canvas ... I know: Let's call them "sails"!!!

Photo courtesy of Beluga SkySails

Follow-up on Grid Challenges

Recent posts on the somewhat sorry state of the US power grid made this article, on the how renewables implementations will be limited by the current grid, stand out when I saw it last week.

According to the NY Times' Matthew Wald:

The grid today, according to experts, is a system conceived 100 years ago to let utilities prop each other up, reducing blackouts and sharing power in small regions. It resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.

Wald then cites of FERC who says, "We need an interstate transmission superhighway system.” Only problem is that you only go interstate when legislators in DC make a coordinated decision, and that's not likely to happen anytime soon. Until now, they've left power transmission issues to the states and it doesn't seem like that's about to change.

As a reader of the Powrtalk blog recently pointed out, we don't need a national super grid to achieve big gains - but we do need to connect the power generation centers to the nearest big cities. And DOD could and should get more boisterous here, by demanding and helping finance direct renewables transmission connects to its bigger bases. Nellis (photovoltaics) and China Lake (geothermal) have bypassed grid woes by building their power on the bases themselves. But for DOD installastions not ready or able to build their own large renewable generators yet, solid connections to renewable power might be the next best thing*.

* Note: I'm sure I'm missing something here. How does a base take advantage of intermittent renewable power when it's available but retain the ability to switch over when it needs to draw from traditional sources? And how does it do this without depending on the local utility provider or providers?