Tesla and other electric vehicle manufacturers could build the fleet of the US Army in the future. That's according to 3-Star General Eric Wesley, the director of the US Army's Futures and Concepts Center.
Wesley recently talked to Defense News about exploring sustainable solutions for the US Army's future fleets. According to the Lt. General, it's crucial that the military consider the advantages of electric vehicles. However, he acknowledged that the transition is a big challenge for the US Military.
"We've got some research and development going on, and we can build prototypes, in terms of a transition plan, we are not there," Wesley said. "Let's be clear. We're behind. We're late to meet on this thing. If you look at all of the analysis, all of the various nations that we work with, they're all going to electric power with their automotive fleet."
Lt. Gen. Wesley added that one huge advantage of having an electric brigade is that they can remain deployed for a much longer period. This is because EVs can be charged from renewable sources like the sun and they can still operate independently in the most challenging environments.
An example of an electric vehicle perfect for the US Army would be the Tesla Cybertruck, a powerful EV with over a 500-mile range and a durable exoskeleton. If Tesla can create such an impressive machine, it's highly likely other automakers will follow suit.
Compared to petrol-powered cars, electric brigades present more advantages. For one thing, EVs have very low heat signatures and are very quiet machines, making them harder to detect, as opposed to internal-combustion vehicles.
Additionally, an electric army vehicle will likely have less moving parts than its petrol-powered counterpart. Key components such as batteries are usually modular as well, which means that replacing compromised sections could be accomplished fairly easily. Since electric vehicles are quickly becoming a norm, finding the same parts won't become a problem -- commonality already exists.
Wesley and his team are in the process of preparing a proposal for the head of Army Futures Command to make their vision possible -- to electrify the US Army's fleet. The 3-Star General emphasized that this is what's lacking in the military these days, especially at a time wherein the automotive industry is going electric.
The U.S. Army must keep up, Wesley said, or risk having its vehicles compromised by a potential lack of parts from the supply chain.
