Tactical Truck Power Architecture Modernisation

A leading Turkish land systems prime contractor brought TEDEG Defence into its next-generation tactical truck programme to renew the power distribution subsystem. The platform powers several mission loads at once, including radar processing, communications, warning units and perimeter lighting. The new power distribution unit had to suit both retrofits and series production, and fit the existing harness routing and connector layout.

The legacy PDU could no longer cope with the growing number of loads and the extra power demand that came with new mission equipment. The main issues in the field were:

• Insufficient output capacity: there were no spare outputs for new loads, so some equipment had to share a line.
• EMI margin: MIL-STD-461F field measurements showed a narrowing conducted-emission margin, putting electromagnetic compatibility with radar and radio systems at risk.
• Supply quality: voltage fluctuations on the incoming supply passed straight through to sensitive loads.
• Mechanical robustness: contactor-based distribution carried a risk of early failure under cold starts and heavy vibration.
• Observability: output status could not be seen remotely, so fault-finding had to be done by hand at the vehicle.

The prime contractor needed a solution that fitted the same mechanical envelope and could be monitored and managed in the field.

TEDEG Defence customised the PDU-RT5002 military power distribution unit to the platform's load profile and harness.

• Isolated outputs with per-output circuit-breaker protection: each mission load has its own line, so a fault on one does not spread to the others.
• Prioritised source management: automatic, priority-based switching between mains, generator and UPS supplies.
• Remote monitoring: output management over Ethernet, voltage and current logging, and single-point tracking of fault conditions such as over- and under-voltage, reverse polarity and over-temperature.
• Platform fit: a MIL-DTL-38999 connector set kept changes to the existing harness to a minimum.
• Additional protection: a reverse polarity protection unit and a voltage measurement unit were integrated into the system.

The design was based on MIL-STD-461F EMI/EMC and MIL-STD-810G environmental requirements. Load profile simulation and EMI pre-scans were carried out jointly with the prime contractor's quality team.

With the new architecture, each of the platform's mission loads is fed from its own protected line within the same mechanical envelope. Power distribution can now be monitored from a single point, so maintenance crews can see a faulty line remotely instead of tracing it at the vehicle.

• Capacity for new mission equipment was gained without changing the mechanical layout.
• The filtering design was renewed with electromagnetic compatibility with radar and radio systems in mind.
• The distribution layout was reworked to MIL-STD-810G requirements with vibration-heavy field conditions in mind.
• Field experience on the pilot vehicles cleared the way for the solution to move into the series production configuration.

The PDU-RT5002 became a core building block of the platform's power distribution architecture.