The battery development initiative was declared by Altairnano in August 2008, which is part of a military testing program to display the use of company’s advanced battery systems for enhancing performance, reliability, and safety attributes related with M119 105mm gun batteries.
Jim Shields, the Army’s program manager stated, I am very excited about the capability offered by the Altairnano battery technology and look forward to conducting system level testing and delivering leap-ahead performance to our troops.
Altairnano’s advanced battery systems exhibit the widest operating temperature ranges and highest abuse tolerance of any lithium-ion battery available today, stated Terry Copeland, president and chief executive officer, Altairnano. The projected long-life of the batteries is also an important attribute, which is expected to help the military replace batteries less often than shorter-lived, conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Engineering and software design for M119 gun digitization program is managed by Armaments Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. Once approved for M119 105mm lightweight gun digitization program, the company’s battery systems could be provided for use throughout the military’s M119 105mm inventory, which presently numbers around 850 howitzers.
The battery system designed for US Army that features a 24 Volt/22 Amp Hour battery with an integrated battery management system (BMS). The battery has wide applications beyond the M119 program and could expand to other weapons platforms, advanced military vehicle designs, portable power and back-up power applications.
