Army chooses PD Systems to rebuild as many as 180 MEP-PU-810 mobile power generation systems
FORT BELVOIR, Va. –Mobile power specialist PD Systems Inc. in Alexandria, Va., will rebuild the U.S. Army MEP-PU-810 A and B deployable power generation and distribution systems to like-new condition under terms of a $30.1 million contract announced this week.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., are asking PD Systems for the recapitalization of the deployable power generation and distribution systems prime power unit or MEP-PU-810 A and B.
The MEP-PU-810 deployable power generation and distribution system prime power unit is a wheel-mounted, dual-diesel-engine-driven generator that produces 840 kilowatts of 4160-volt line-to-line power at 60 Hz, as well as and 700 kilowatts of 3800-volt line-to-line power at 50 Hz with an 0.8 power factor, lagging.
Each power unit two six-cylinder four-cycle Caterpillar 3456 electrical power generation engines, and two Caterpillar model SR4B brushless rotating-armature exciter generators.
The MEP-PU-810A for the U.S. Air Force is a family of air transportable bare-base electric power generation and distribution systems to support the Air Force’s Harvest Falcon and Harvest Eagle expeditionary mission sets. It is in a towed trailer configuration that is capable of being air transported by a C-130 aircraft.
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The U.S. Army MEP-PU-810B is designed to be maneuverable to support Army ground units. It is designed with a 5th wheel configuration for over-road use at 55 miles per hour, and is capable of powering distribution networks to customers as far away as two miles via transformers at 208/120 volts AC. Users can start, stop, add and remove generators and operate in parallel to form a mobile power grid.
The MEP-PU-810 recapitalization seeks to capture advancements in power generation technology over the past 15 years and increase the useful life of the original system. Army leaders say they expect to use these recapitalized systems until 2033 when the Prime Power Mobile Production System is scheduled to enter the force.
PD Systems experts first will rebuild and test three MEP-PU-810A and three MEP-PU-810B units, and optionally will rebuild as many as 180 MEP-PU-810A/B generator sets.
On this contract PD systems will do the work at locations determined with each order, and should be finished by April 2027. For more information contact PD Systems online at www.pd-sys.net, or the Army Contracting Command at acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-apg.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
