NSWC Crane Enhancing Hybrid Electric Platform Agility through LEEAP Project

May 06, 2024 – Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division has awarded the Light Expeditionary Energy Agile Platform (LEEAP) – Hybrid Electric project to Tessa Two, Inc. Tessa Two is a small, non-traditional organization based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The LEEAP project was awarded through the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS) Other Transaction Authority (OTA), managed by National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL).

The LEEAP project will develop a prototype solution for a hybrid electric platform with high power and high energy solutions on a lighter-classed vehicle, a critical effort in meeting future warfighting concepts. The technology developed will enable agile Electronic Warfare (EW) payloads, providing enhanced protection to the U.S. warfighter.

“The award of the LEEAP prototype project will enable agile Electronic Warfare payloads to provide protection to DoD forces. The Marine Corp Ultra-Light Tactical Vehicle (ULTV) / Light Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (LTATV) needs to be agile yet capable, and that’s exactly what NSWC, Crane is developing through LEEAP,” said Tony Kestranek, Deputy Director of S²MARTS.

The LEEAP project will modernize current military vehicles and generators to support evolving warfighting concepts like Expeditionary Advanced Basing Operations (EABO) and modern battlefield technology requirements. There’s a pressing need for a lighter hybrid electric platform with both high power and high energy solutions to enable smaller, more agile units while reducing logistical challenges and energy waste.

“Commodities like water and fuel transported to the forward edge of operations increase costs and entail risk to the distribution network, as well as the receiver,” as stated in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Expeditionary Advanced Basing Operations (EABO) Tentative Manual, February 2021, section 7.4.4.1

LEEAP has an estimated 60-month period of performance with potential for follow-on activity. Through this effort, NWSC, Crane is ensuring that the DoD vehicle systems are well-equipped for modern warfare and setting a foundation for further improvements as we adapt to the ever-changing defense landscape.

About S²MARTS

The Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS), managed by NSTXL, is the premier rapid OT contracting vehicle for the Department of Defense (DoD) in trusted microelectronics, strategic & spectrum mission, and other critical mission areas. The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division created S²MARTS to grow and engage an elite network of innovators, shorten the path to defense prototype development, and advance national security efforts.