U.S. Army Begins Test Fleet of Electric Vehicles

In brief: The United States Army has received four all-electric vehicles from Rapid Electric Vehicles (Canada) as part of a test fleet of electrics to analyze improvements to the military's energy security.

The word

The Army's Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Center (TARDEC) will put the four electrics on the road as administrative vehicles as part of a test to explore ways of reducing the military's energy usage.

Three of the REV 300s are converted Ford Escape SUVs and the other is a conversion of the Ford F150 which uses the same chassis. The vehicles are capable of 90mph and have a range up to 120 miles per charge.

Charging is via a Level 1 120V domestic outlet or a Level 2 J1772 outlet which can use the vehicle's batteries as a backup power source back into the grid/building.

And so ...

Rapid Electric Vehicles is based in Vancouver and specializes in fleet vehicles.

Photo credits: Rapid Electric Vehicles