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Usually when we cover military gadgets it's things like super-strong robots or skateboard tanks. But, even the U.S. Army needs practical, sensible transportation (apparently), and heaven forbid it buys some standard car from a standard dealership. Instead in this case it... went to Bright Automotive, who whipped up a custom version of its Idea plug-in hybrid van, a 10kWh battery pack offering 30 miles of purely electric driving before spinning the internal combustion engine under the hood. On top of that, the Idea can actually act as a generator, exporting 3.3kW of power continuously at either 110 or 220v. What can't it do? Well, look cool on a battlefield for one, or intimidate our enemies, for another -- nothing a roof-mounted ball turret and a coat of olive drab can't solve.

Continue reading Bright delivers hybrid van for U.S. Army testing, won't be hitting a battlefield soon -- or ever

Bright delivers hybrid van for U.S. Army testing, won't be hitting a battlefield soon -- or ever originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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