A strong opponent of the Biden administration’s climate change mitigation plans and promotion of hybrid and electric vehicles, Donald Trump is attacking the Pentagon for making plans to rely less on fossil fuels and more on electric.
During several of his rallies, the former president has said embracing electric tanks and vehicles puts service members in greater danger because they are not as sustainable as traditional fuel.
“They don’t go far and they have to pull a wagon because the wagon, the battery, is so big that the Army tanks will have a wagon like a child,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News earlier this month.
The former president has suggested that the military is more concerned with climate change than actually producing the highest quality warfighting weapons to defeat America’s enemies.
“They also want to make our fighter jets with a green stamp of energy savings, though losing 15 percent efficiency, but allowing us to keep our enemy’s atmosphere clean of emissions as we viciously and unceremoniously attack them at levels never seen before,” Trump said last month during a National Rifle Association meeting in Dallas.
While Trump may say electric tanks and hybrid warfighting machinery are negatives for conducting military operations, the Pentagon has found that moving toward renewable energy actually will offer distinct battlefield advantages.
The Army’s climate strategy focuses electrification efforts on “nontactical” vehicles, such as for transporting fossil fuels in a war zone, which can be dangerous. However, it also states that by 2050, the Army could deploy fully electric tactical vehicles.
Electric and hybrid vehicles can offer distinct advantages: They can be quieter than gas-powered tanks and don’t leave a heat signature, according to John Conger, a climate expert who spoke with Politico. He also said hybrid tanks could consume 20% less fuel since they’d be using a hybrid engine to power computer systems.
Conger, director emeritus of the Center for Climate and Security and senior adviser to the Council on Strategic Risks, added that the military will not embrace technology that weakens its capabilities.
“It is not the goal to fail; the goal is to succeed, the goal is to be able to get your cake and eat it too, to have stuff that works well, that provides operational advantages and also reduces environmental impact,” he told the outlet.
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While reducing fuel emissions is a consideration for the Pentagon in its plan, moving toward electric vehicles could present strategic benefits too.
The Chinese military is already making moves to electrify its military fleet.
