It may look like something you might have pulled out of a Kenner G.I. Joe package during your salad days in the '80s, but the "Aggressor" off-road Alternative Mobility Vehicle is no toy. In fact it's very real, and the first prototypes are ready for testing by the men in green.
The tough-looking buggy uses a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain developed by Quantum Technologies. Green and mean, the setup provides strong performance credentials (0-40 mph in 4 secs) and affords the vehicle a level of stealthiness not found in conventional machinery. How so? It can run in a battery-only mode that allows the AMV to run silently and with a reduced heat signature, making it much more difficult to detect when it's operating covertly. Seems like a no-brainer for the military, as quieter will always be better when working in hostile environments.
The vehicle and its powertrain, according to Popular Mechanics, have also been talked about for potential use domestically in roles such as border patrol and park service duty. The quieter operations of hybrid vehicles is often touted as a nice side benefit when discussing passenger cars and commercial vehicles. For the military, however, it's clearly a big selling point. In a bit of a role reversal, the rest of the drivetrain's advantages are the gravy.
