DRS Technologies, Inc. recently announced almost $10 million in new orders to produce Deployable Power Generation and Distribution Systems (DPGDS) for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army. DRS will provide power units, secondary equipment and spare parts to support the U.S. Army’s 249th Engineer Battalion and the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of prime power units. Work for these awards will be accomplished by the DRS Technical Services unit in Alexandria, VA, and deliveries are expected to be completed within 8 to 12 months. The contracts were awarded by the U.S. Air Force Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, FL.
The DPGDS are air-transportable electrical power generation and distribution systems that can be configured to provide power in support of military and humanitarian missions. Such missions can range from supporting small, isolated outposts to supporting fully operational, forward-deployed U.S. military bases. While efficient, they require fuel to run, and significant convoy activity in places like Iraq and Afghanistan involves supplying these kinds of power units with fuel. Hence the call from combatant commanders for renewable energy options.
