Alcoa to lighten combat vehicles

Alcoa has received a five-year contract from the US Army for research and development (R&D) projects involving the development of lightweight solutions for ground combat vehicles, it announced on 3 March.

Alcoa Defense received the ‘Ground Vehicle Light-Weighting’ contract from the army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) to accelerate technology R&D and provide engineering solutions for military intelligent ground systems and ground vehicles.

The first work directive will see Alcoa advance its aluminium weld wire alloys - designed to increase the strength of welded joints while reducing corrosion of those welded joints on combat vehicles. Potential future work involves providing material research, development, testing, engineering and evaluation efforts related to ground vehicle light-weighting.

These R&D efforts will address various technologies associated with light-weighting such as aluminium forming technology, modelling and simulation, fastening and joining, armour development, material fabrication, material development, coating and corrosion technology and energy conservation.

Eric Roegner, president, Alcoa Defense, said: ‘This agreement with TARDEC builds on Alcoa Defense’s decades-long partnership with the US Army to advance military ground vehicles. Alcoa’s lightweight solutions have improved troop protection while reducing vehicle weight and assembly time. We look forward to building on our successful track record to help develop the next generation combat vehicle.’