Kinetics established in 1985, is a world leader in the area of 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, life support systems (LSS), 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), armored / infantry fighting vehicles (AFV / IFV), armored personnel carriers (APC), mines resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, tactical and tactical support vehicles (TV / TSV), utility and utility support vehicles (UV / USV), rocket launchers, shelters, tents, helicopters and aircraft.
Auxiliary power units (APU)
The need for auxiliary power units (APU) on military vehicles is becoming more common in order to:
- Support the demand for add-on Hi-Power Electronic Equipment that increases the power drawn beyond the initially planned consumption
- Enable Silent Mode Operation of the vehicle – Low Noise and Thermal Signature
- Reduce the logistics and operational costs of the vehicles – less expensive main-engine hours and fuel. APUs very low Life Cycle Cost (LCC) assures a fast return on the investment
Kinetics has Developed and Fielded a wide range of APUs for external and internal installation on military vehicles. These have a power range of 2kW – 8 kW with output voltage of 24/28 VDC as well as high AC and DC voltages. The APUs can be based on either water or air cooled diesel engines depending the model and the application
Kinetics APUs are provided as stand alone units or can be integrated with Kinetics’ life support systems (LSS-APU) providing NBC / CBRN protection and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC).
Advantages of Kinetics’ APUs include:
- Designed for heavy duty automotive operation in heavy dust conditions.
- Constantly keep high performance while operated in extreme temperatures and high altitudes
- Can be operated while the vehicle is stationary or in movement.
- Very compact in size
- Fully integrated with the vehicle fuel and control systems
A unique feature of Kinetics’ APUs is their ability to operate as co-generation systems in conjunction with the vehicle’s main generator. In this mode, the APUs are continuously monitoring the vehicle’s power demands and provide power to fulfill any missing power. This operational mode is very useful where there is lack of power on existing vehicles due to new add-on equipment. In these cases the APUs save the upgrading of the vehicle’s main generators.
Kinetics’ APUs are always tailored to meet each specific requirement while based on qualified and fielded solutions.