Kinetics Ltd, established in 1985, is a world leader in the area of life support systems (LSS), auxiliary power units (APU), heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems/environmental control systems (ECS), individual crew and equipment cooling systems (ICECS), NBC/CBRN protection and military and airborne hydraulic systems.

Kinetics develops, qualifies, produces and fields systems and components for a wide range of tracked, wheeled, stationary and airborne military platforms. These include main battle tanks (MBT), self-propelled howitzers (SPH), armoured/infantry fighting vehicles (AFV/IFV), armoured personnel carriers (APC), mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAP), tactical and tactical support
vehicles (TV/TSV), utility and utility support vehicles (UV/USV), rocket launchers, shelters, tents, helicopters and aircraft.

Auxiliary power unit (APU)

Auxiliary power units (APU) become standard equipment in many new and upgrading programmes of main battle tanks (MBT) and armoured fighting vehicles (AFV) for the following reasons:

  • To enable silent mode operation of the vehicle while keeping low noise and thermal signatures.
  • To support the increased power demand for add-on hi-power electronic equipment. This new demand sometimes exceeds the original power generation capabilities of the platform.
  • To reduce the logistics and operational costs of the vehicles. The APU low life cycle cost (LCC) assures fast return on the investment.
  • To improve the crew performance and reduce crew fatigue by minimising their exposure to noise, heat and vibrations while using the APU instead of the main engine of the platform.

Kinetics’ APUs

Kinetics has developed and fielded a wide range of APUs for external and internal installation on military vehicles. The APUs are provided as standalone systems or
integrated with Kinetics’ life support systems (LSS/APU), also providing NBC/CBRN protection and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC).

The main features of Kinetics’ APUs are:

  • An electric output range of 2kW to 20kW at 28VDC (high-voltage output is also possible)
  • Option for additional hydraulic output, compressor drive and/or PTO
  • High-performance while operating in extreme temperatures and at high altitudes
  • Designed for heavy-duty automotive operation
  • Designed for operation in heavy dust conditions
  • Fully integrated with the vehicle fuel and control systems.
  • Can be operated while the vehicle is stationary or in movement.
  • Very compact in size

Typically our APUs have three operational modes:

  • Stand-alone mode when the platform main engine is off.
  • Co-generation mode while operating in parallel with the platform main engine (the vehicle may be in movement).
  • External power delivery mode to power off-board consumers.

Visit Kinetics at DSEI 2009, which takes place from 8 September to 11 September at ExCel, London. The company will be based at the Israel Pavilion, stand 434.