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Case study: Electric countermeasure
Compact, efficient power solutions enable improved countermeasure capabilities
Customer’s challenge
The electronic battlefield relies heavily on UAV-based electronic warfare systems to detect, assess and in some cases prohibit enemy threats. It is vitally important to keep these systems as small and undetectable as possible for survivability. Key goals were:
- Establish a 270V bus on board as efficiently as possible
- Compact power components
- Enhance the agility of the UAV
The Vicor solution
Vicor patented, high-performance power modules provided the compact size, light weight and efficiency needed for the UAVs to stay in the air longer making them the perfect over watch sentinels. A lightweight, compact array of Vicor BCMs® provides high power to the 270V bus.
Key benefits
Key benefits
97.9% efficient power conversion to a 270V bus
Parallelable modules to attain the power levels necessary
High power density allows for flexible placement on board the UAV
Power delivery network
A stack of six BCM® converter modules with the outputs all in series provide 4,242VDC isolation and exceptional efficiency of 97.9%. As is typical in any UAV, the space made available is limited and of irregular shape. The Vicor modular approach allows great flexibility in how to build a power delivery to fit within the platform.
MIL-COTS BCM® bus converter modules
Isolated fixed-ratio
Input: 200 – 400V, 400 – 700V, 500 – 800V
Current: Up to 35A
Efficiency: Up to 98%
As small as 1.28 x 0.86 x 0.26in
Resources
Resources for the design engineer
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