Reducing Power System Weight for Combat Controllers Published Oct. 11, 2009 By Thomas Brown Propulsion WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The Air Force Research Laboratory Electrochemistry and Thermal Sciences Branch manages the Battlefield Renewable Integrated Tactical Energy System program. The program was developed to reduce the power system weight of combat controllers by 50 percent for a standard 72-hour mission. Before the BRITES program, warfighters carried 35.5 lbs of BA-5590 batteries for a 72-hour mission. BRITES is a wearable power system with multiple energy sources. During Spiral 1, batteries were replaced with three zinc air batteries, two lithium ion batteries, and one power manager, thus reducing the weight to 26.9 lbs. Spiral 2, which utilized two direct 25 W methanol fuel cells, one lithium ion battery, and one power manager, was able to further reduce system weight to 23.5 lbs (34 percent reduction). The Spiral 2 hardware has undergone transition to the field. Currently, AFRL engineers are focused on Spiral 3 development, with the goal of further optimizing power resources to achieve a 50 percent weight reduction and provide robust hardware. Remarkably, Spiral 3 has also resulted in another system weight reduction of <18 lbs (51 percent). AFRL researchers are now providing end-user technical support and training under Spiral 3.