NORTON SHORES - General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) engineers have done what no one thought they could do. They have re-invented the wheel. And they probably were able to do it because no one took the time to tell them that it couldn’t be done.

The new wheel, which includes an in-hub permanent magnet motor drive, the associated power electronics and a high-performance hybrid electric drive, is part of two revolutionary military vehicles - the RST-V and the AHED - being created at the GDLS Technical Center.

General Dynamics moved into Muskegon in 1996 when it purchased the former Teledyne plant on Getty Street, a 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility complete with a test track that employs 450 people. Another 110 employees work at the 60,000-square-foot GDLS Technical Center on Seminole Road in Norton Shores.

While employees at the Getty Street facility concentrate testing and manufacturing, the engineers at the General Dynamics Tech Center are all about research and development. Their job is to anticipate where the company’s customers are going to want to go and then to design products that can be put into production.

The RST-V (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Targeting Vehicle) was the first to utilize the new hybrid electric drive and in-hub motor drive technology designed at the center. The package includes a reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting suite; a command, control, communication and intelligence suite; and an integrated survivability package. The RST-V is designed to carry a payload of 3,000 pounds with a crew of up to six. It can move at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour on highways.

GDLS Project Manager Richard DuVall told MiBiz that the military came to GDLS because they needed a vehicle that could fit into a V-22 aircraft for transport. "They had to have a vehicle that was 68 inches wide that didn’t turn over all the time like the jeep did," he said. "It really had to be 64-65 inches, but testing showed a vehicle that size would tip over even more."

DuVall took the problem to GDLS Advanced Concept Manager James Pond who returned with a solution 48 hours later - a folding suspension. "It was what I call a ‘BFO’ or a Blinding Flash of the Obvious," said Pond. "It was so simple I wondered why no one else had thought of it."

The suspension was only one challenge facing the GDLS team. The other was that the vehicle would not be able to fit into the V-22 if it had a conventional drivetrain. Solution: the in-hub motor drive technology.

As complex as the aforementioned technology is, the operation of the RST-V is surprisingly simple. The dashboard is not unlike an automotive dashboard except that it is even easier to understand. "When you are being shot at, life is difficult," said DuVall. "We didn’t want the operation of the vehicle to add to that stress."

The RST-V has already been subjected to rigorous testing by the U.S. Marine Corps and has met or exceeded all requirements, according to GDLS Advanced Programs Engineering Manager Thomas Trzaska. "They have enough confidence to take it to the next step."

That next step will be a year of even more rigorous testing. The USMC is putting together the funding to use some RST-V demonstrators in a testing program that could start before the end of 2004.

The RST-V is more than just a single military vehicle. It could spawn a whole family of similar vehicles that would be built on the RST-V platform. "If you have the right modules it can be anything you want it to be," said Pond. "Once we got the new technology, we found that we could do so much more."

The creation of the 8X8 AHED (Advanced Hybrid Electric Vehicle) is proof of the new doors that have been opened by the technology that made the RTS-V possible. The AHED technology demonstrator integrates key enabling technologies that Pond said would be the basis of future vehicle designs.

The vehicle has three potential commercial targets: the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) effort, a British military program or the next generation of the Stryker combat vehicles produced by GDLS.

"The AHED combines the commercial (wheel) technology with military (track) technology," he told MiBiz. "Once the military sees the potential in this, there will be no turning back."

Like the RST-V, the AHED could give life to a complete new family of vehicles. Potential variations include gun systems, missile carriers, armored personal carriers, high-profile bulk transporters and utility vehicles.

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This article appeared in the October 18, 2004 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who are employed in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz Network, visit www.mibiz.com.