Article Posted on : - May 07, 2010

The US Airmen building a Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resource, or BEAR, in austere conditions. A USAF Photo.

DALLAS (BNS): US defence major Lockheed Martin has received a $3.5 million contract to develop an Integrated Smart-BEAR Power System (ISBPS) for the US Air Force.

The Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources (BEAR) programme supports the troops for establishing mobile air bases during combat operations. The equipment also provides theater war fighters billet and air field capability to support fighter aircraft air force personnel.

The ISBPS will integrate a variety of energy sources, including renewables, into the existing BEAR power grid. The system will help to reduce fuel consumption by 25 percent, alleviate logistics burdens and improve power availability.

“Renewable energy sources can save lives and money by reducing the amount of fuel transported in theater. Our transportable intelligent power system will integrate renewable and conventional power, a challenging task in deployed environments. This important capability will increase safety and add new mission-extending capability for our troops,” said Gil Metzger, Director for Intelligent Microgrid Solutions at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in the company news release.

Key ISBPS capabilities include operating in both grid-tied and grid-independent modes. The system will independently sustain critical power loads when the primary grid is unavailable, supplementing conventional diesel generation with solar and wind power.

The ISBPS will be developed at the Lockheed Martin Microgrid Development Center which has unique facilities for comprehensive power system modeling, simulation and physical testing.

The ISBPS team will construct and use actual BEAR structures during the testing phase of the system in Dallas.