U.S. ARMY, BAE SYSTEMS P&S, and GE AVIATION JOINTLY EXECUTE AN M109A7 VEHICLE LEVEL DEMONSTRATION OF A GE SILICON CARBIDE CONVERTER

The M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH) developed by BAE Systems is groundbreaking for its utilization of 610 Vdc high-voltage (HV) electrical power generation and distribution. When the vehicle entered development ten years ago, silicon based power conversion devices were a proven and effective technology to provide the demanding power needs of the new military platform. Since then, technological advances in Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors have shown great promise in providing significant improvements to power density, efficiency, and operating temperature. When GE Aviation developed a prototype Silicon Carbide power converter which debuted at the 2014 GVSET Symposium, both TARDEC and BAE Systems, P&S recognized the benefit to evaluating and demonstrating the technology on the M109A7. In August 2016, the plan came to fruition when the joint TARDEC, BAE Systems P&S, and GE Aviation team successfully completed a series of demonstration tests showing that the technology could deliver on its promised improvements.