Future mobility concepts for land forces in transition
Wolfgang Gelpke
The spring symposium of the Förderkreis Deutsches Heer eV (FKH) on April 23 and 24, 2024 focused on the topic of mobility. For the more than 100 participants, topics of drive technology and mobility were at the forefront of the lectures and presentations in collaboration with Renk Group AG at their production site in Augsburg.
Source: Gelpke
In his welcome, the President of the FKH, Major General (ret.) Wolfgang Köpke, directed his special thanks to the Managing Director of Renk Group AG, Ms. Susanne Wiegand, who made this event possible and also gave the participants an intensive insight into the production of tanks on the first day. and ship gears at the location. Köpke also welcomed the mayor of the city of Augsburg, Mr. Bernd Kränzle, who in turn also addressed the participants in the symposium.
Ms. Wiegand based her greeting on the questions of the new era and asked whether this had arrived in society? According to their assessment, with the necessary investments in defense, restrictions elsewhere are also necessary. “Safety is the basis for everything!” was her conclusion at the end of her welcome.
Source Gelpke
In his introduction to the topic of the symposium, Major General Köpke presented mobility in the area of tension between protection and effectiveness, as well as system and operational readiness. The mobility of a land system has a high tactical and operational value, especially against threats from the air.
The first specialist lecture by Prof. Dr. Cristian Trapp from the MORE - Mobility Research - Campus of the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich delved into the topic of electrification of drive trains and presented both the advantages of electric drives with high torque at low speeds and the challenges of battery technology with low gravimetric and volumetric energy density. Drive concepts and degrees of hybridization must be adapted and decided according to the operational profile of the mobility provider.
Electrification and hybridization levels in military systems
Source MORE UniBw MunichColonel iG Armin Dirks, head of the project team for the German-French project on the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) in the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), then provided information about the current status of the planning of the project work.
The relevant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the two defense ministers on April 26. The core of the development of MGCS will be a multi-platform concept, with manned and unmanned systems, which together will meet the required capabilities. The development goals of a maximum weight of 50 t for the system carriers and a reduction in the number of operators are intended to support the necessary mobility and the use of less force in larger spaces. The agreed eight “pillars” or “pillars” of the required development work were defined between the contracting parties in terms of accountability and the “Lead Nation”. The time target is described as an introduction from 2045. The Leopard 2 A8 main battle tank, with which the tank battalion to be stationed in Lithuania is to be equipped, will serve as a pillar of a bridge solution for Germany until then. The current and future developments with the A8 version and with the development of further additional capabilities also from the MGCS project development, a threat-adapted system based on Leopard is planned from 2030 for use for a further 25 years as a bridge solution until it is replaced by MGCS.
Im Anschluss trugen Herr Dr. Felbinger und Herr Wiemers von der Firma Rheinmetall die Ergebnisse der Analysen und Überlegungen zu Antriebstechnologien für Militärische Fahrzeuge vor. Aus dem Vergleich der Antriebskonzepte hinsichtlich Energieträger, Gewicht, Effizienz, Resilienz im Einsatz und Kosten lassen sich für Radfahrzeuge durchaus die Vorteile der Hybridtechnologie herausarbeiten, insbesondere bei leichten Radfahrzeugen. Bei Kettenfahrzeugen zeigen die Untersuchungen die Notwendigkeit, einen großen Teil der Betriebslast mit Verbrennertechnologie erbringen zu müssen und die elektrischen Antriebskomponenten ergänzend für Boost-Funktionen zu nutzen. Der weitere Ausbau der betreffenden Technologie im zivilen Bereich wird bei der Verfügbarkeit und Kosteneffizienz von Komponenten auch für militärische Anwendungen von Vorteil sein.
Source Rheinmetall
Mr. Raphael Leibl, Head of Innovation at RENK Group AG, presented the new challenges for the drive components in land vehicles. Energy management and increased mobility through higher efficiency and robustness as well as adaptability to the driving and drive situation in a networked vehicle architecture are the goals of the developments.
Source: Renk
In his presentation, Mr. Till von Westermann from the company KNDS described the balance of mobility, effectiveness and protection in the light of the changing times, which requires the armed forces to quickly build on available technologies and to quickly achieve war-fighting capability with new material. It highlights the special advantages of the common mobility platform GTK Boxer with its protection, mobility capabilities and logistical equality. In a simulation project, the capabilities of the RCH 155 artillery system were examined, among other things, with its ability to achieve a high rate of fire and fire while moving versus firing from a fixed position and then changing position (shoot and scoot). The results regarding the hit rates against “Red” were convincing, although the ammunition consumption was very high due to the possible high rate of fire of the RCH.
Source: KNDS
At the technical end of the first day there was a tour of the production of gearboxes for tank and marine engines in Plant 1 of the Renk company. Impressive in terms of dimensions and manufacturing quality and in particular the manufacturing tolerances of the drive components used, both the production process for individual components as well as test and test benches for the gearboxes were presented and questions from the participants were answered with a high level of professional competence by the highly committed employees.
After an introduction by the president, the second day of the symposium began with a presentation by the project manager of the “Security Essen” trade fair, which has represented a pilot function for the security industry in an international environment since 1974. Since security is not exclusively focused on the civilian sector and security is changing, their plans for 2024 also include the area of civil defense and civil protection and, in addition to thematic areas, the “Defense Forum” offers a platform for professional exchange between politics and industry To promote defense and armaments.
Ms. Evelina Hedskog, CEO of W5 Solutions, carried with Dr. Wildhagen, the representative in Germany, presented mobile and modular training solutions for shooting and combat training in open terrain. These have a reliable and interference-resistant radio control as well as automatic hit detection and display, which provide immediate feedback for the evaluation of the exercise. The company's BOX module system offers flexibly configurable container solutions including possible protection against heat, radiation or splintering.
Mr. Thorsten Peter, sales manager at the Flensburg vehicle construction company FFG, explained the company's developments on the Leopard 2 base platform, the WiSENT 2, with its flexibly configurable and quickly and flexibly adaptable capabilities as a pioneer, bridge-laying and recovery vehicle as well as a mine-clearing vehicle. With chassis from new production as well as vehicle chassis from use, they have the same mobility and performance as the main battle tank. With the Boxer recovery and repair module developed by FFG with a 20t crane and a 200kN winch, the company offers a capability for use by the Army's medium forces. The winch and crane can be operated both under protection and completely with remote control and can also be used as a mission module detached from the driving module.
Source: FFG
Im Anschluss trug Dr. Thomas Kauffmann, Geschäftsführer von GDELS Deutschland, seine Analyse zu den zukünftigen Mobilitätsanforderungen im geostrategischen Kontext Europas vor. Das Ergebnis seiner Analyse zu den Herausforderungen in der Landes- und Bündnisverteidigung zeigen die unzureichende Transportkapazitäten der Bahn, die nicht ausreichenden Tragfähigkeiten von Brücken sowie das Erfordernis der Überwindung einer Vielzahl von breiten Gewässern (größer 20m bis größer 100m) auf der Strecke von Südfrankreich bis nach Estland, sowie Serpentinen, Tunnel und Engstellen für die Verlegung auf Straßen. In der Umsetzung in die Fähigkeiten für die Ausgestaltung der Mobilitätsträger des Unternehmens ergeben sich die Forderung nach Einhaltung der Belastungsgrenzen von max. MLC 50, die Zielbestimmung hoher Reichweiten, Mehrrollenfähigkeit, hohe Geländegängigkeit bei moderatem Verbrauch und eine Kostenoptimierung auch durch Modularisierung. Niedrige Achslasten, niedrige Bodendrücke, amphibische Fähigkeiten auch für schwere Kräfte und flexible Brückenlösungen von leicht bis schwer stellen hohe Anforderungen an die Systeme die in den Produkte Eagle, Piranha, Pandur und Ascod realisiert sind. Unter Trennung von Funktionalität und Mobilität wurden die Entwicklungsziele für schnell verlegbare Brücken in den verschiedenen Schnellbrücken-systemen des Unternehmens wie Viper, Anaconda und Python umgesetzt.
Source GDELS
Colonel iG Wilhelm Wenz presented the further development of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle from the perspective of the Army Command's material capability management. From its origins, the infantry fighting vehicle should be superior to its predecessor in the criteria of modularity, mobility, protection, effectiveness, reconnaissance and leadership ability and in terms of basic capabilities be introduced before all developments are completed. Its protection should be scalable and its transportability in the A400M should be ensured. The improved configuration S1 of the Puma for the army is currently being delivered compared to the version introduced as an interim step for the VJTF 2023.
With the changing times and the demand for quick procurement without complex developments and thus quick closing of the gaps, the further development of the Puma was initiated with a focus on enabling national and alliance defense. A related study on the final operational capability of the Puma has not yet been completed. Faster adaptability, threats from the air, for example from drones, and networking are important areas to be worked on here. In his conclusion, Wenz describes the Puma as “available on the market” today.
Mr. Michael Protzmann then presented the development of new land platforms by the company IABG with a presentation of the architecture of the “digital twin”. Both a physical twin and a digital twin were created for the “overall system demonstrator for airborne weapons carriers”. Loading requirements as well as drive technologies such as diesel-electric or serial hybrid drives could be examined here. The added value of the “digital twin” concept is the sustainable construction and use of the developed solution and risk mitigation in early phases of technological maturity (Technology Readiness Level, TRL). The path from document centering to model centering also supports technological development and acceleration effects as well as risk minimization in procurement are to be expected.
Source IABG
Ms. Andrea Bugar, Head of Defense Digital Germany at Airbus, described mobility and protection for the medical service in national and alliance defense in her presentation. A significant change in this context is the expected change compared to foreign missions with more wounded people, a fragile rescue chain in which rescue with air transport (AIR-MedEvac) is not always possible and care under combat conditions. In addition, the danger of disregarding the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Medical Facilities is also clearly evident from the current conflicts.
The current low mobility of medical facilities, the low level of protection and the set-up and dismantling times must therefore be changed. Mobility and protection must be adapted to the troops supported and rapid establishment of operational readiness is required. The Airbus Protected Wounded Transport Container (GVTC) is highly mobile, offers ballistic protection and is equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment for life support and systems for self-sufficient care. In the low care variant, up to eight patients can be transported - four lying and four sitting - as well as two soldiers as accompanying medical personnel; in the "intermediate care" variant, up to six patients can be transported lying down and two soldiers as accompanying personnel. For the future, she sees both further digitalization of the rescue chain and standardized training as necessary.
At the end of the symposium, Brigadier General Jared Sembritzki, Head of Operations in the Army Command, gave a presentation on the redeployment of Army forces in NATO's New Force Model (NFM). The demand of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR that he needs ready forces that he can bring into action depending on the situation results in Germany agreeing to contribute to the NFM.
A focal division - Division 25 - with two heavy brigades and the heavy PzBrig 45 stationed in Lithuania, as well as from 2027 with another division, the 1st Panzer Division as Division 27, includes Germany's commitment in this regard. Together with the corps troops for the Multinational Corps North-East and the contribution with light forces in the Allied Reaction Force, the army contribution adds up to a total troop strength of approximately 49,000. The focus is on the Poland and the Baltic region and includes Brigade 45 with an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2026 and a Final Operational Capability (FOC) in 2027 as well as the 10th Panzer Division as Div 25. This makes the contribution 4th - times the scope of the previous VJTF and this commitment is also long-term compared to the previous VJTF.
From 2027, a second mechanized division with “medium forces” brigades will be available. These have a high level of robustness and operational/strategic installation capability. The relevant brigades 21, 41 and the German/French brigade will have to be equipped with the heavy weapon carrier, the wheeled infantry fighting vehicle and the wheeled howitzer. The relocation to the Baltics was practiced in the QUADRIGA 24 exercise series. The deployment of heavy and light forces took place using the available transport capacities (air, rail, sea) and the deployment of medium forces took place by road transport. Overall, it has been proven that the medium forces have a higher endurance than light forces and a faster deployment ability than heavy forces and therefore have a significant advantage. However, this requires comprehensive equipment with the necessary systems.
Source Bundeswehr/KdoH
Major General (ret.) Köpke would then like to thank all speakers for the interesting information and in particular the RENK company for their support in organizing the symposium, as well as the participants for their interest and the open and goal-oriented discussion and referred to the planning for the autumn symposium on December 24th. 10/25 at the Hensoldt company in Oberkochen on the subject of reconnaissance and drones.
Source: Bader Photography
Wolfgang Gelpke
