Scania has handed over the first of three hybrid-powered trucks to the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) as part of a joint development project. For FMV, the trial activity is not primarily about evaluating the vehicles themselves, but about examining what role hybrid technology could play in future military systems.

The first handover took place in connection with the Eurosatory defence and security exhibition in Paris. The three vehicles will now be evaluated by the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) across all branches of service.

"That's right, this is not so much about evaluating the vehicles themselves, but more about the technology behind them," says Brigadier General Jonas Lotsne, Head of the Army Materiel business area at FMV, in an interview with Nordic Defence Sector.

According to Lotsne, the primary focus is on hybrid propulsion and energy supply.

"What we are venturing into here concerns hybrid propulsion, energy supply, and the increased demand that the Swedish Armed Forces have in relation to electricity and how it can be generated," he says.

Scania states in a press release that the hybrid trucks are intended to generate greater knowledge of how electrified drivetrains can be used in military applications. Among the characteristics to be examined are fuel efficiency, the ability to advance silently using the electric motor, and the capacity to function as mobile energy platforms.

The vehicles are based on a plug-in hybrid solution in which the combustion engine and electric motor can be used separately or in combination. Battery capacity amounts to 208 kWh, and the system can supply power to external systems such as command posts, sensors, communications equipment, or temporary accommodation facilities.

"I look forward to learning a great deal from this, and to it helping us find the way forward with new technologies and, in due course, naturally also in our ambition to procure materiel," says Lotsne.

FMV also does not rule out that the experience gained from the project could prove significant well beyond the transport domain.

"I do not rule out at all that we will use hybrid technology in other types of vehicles. The technology that Scania is presenting is also interesting in the context of combat vehicle systems: acceleration, reduced noise, thermal signature, high-energy weapons, and more. So there are several areas of application that I believe can be transferred to other vehicle systems," says Lotsne.

The question of charging infrastructure has long been raised as an obstacle to greater electrification in military applications. According to Lotsne, it is also one of the reasons why the Swedish Armed Forces have so far held back.

"That discussion has been ongoing for a considerable time and has been the barrier to taking the step we are now taking. There has been no supporting infrastructure in place. Now we are seeing, on the private commercial side, how that infrastructure is beginning to come together. The question then becomes how our technical systems can benefit from that infrastructure, even if everything is not yet one hundred per cent," he says.

Scania also states that the company is examining how the production of hybrid-powered defence vehicles can be industrialised and integrated into the company's modular system, in order to be adaptable to different missions and customer requirements.

For the Swedish Armed Forces, the project represents an opportunity to test the technology operationally, Scania writes. For Scania, the trials provide experience that can be used to further develop and scale up future hybrid solutions for the defence sector.