Thales has been awarded the U.S. Army’s single, 5-year IDIQ (Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity) contract, valued up to $49M, for Universal Battery Chargers (UBC) and accessories.
The Thales UBC platform exceeds the Army’s original program requirements by improving battery life, mission weight and performance, while also enhancing the user interface and enabling simultaneously charging of multiple battery types. This light, man-portable, modular, scalable, robust charging solution can be utilized by both dismounted Tier 1 (most austere) and mounted (vehicle) user operations. 
 
Thales’ UBC solution is based upon the highly successful Expeditionary Modular Universal Battery Charger (eMUBC), which has been fielded and proven in multiple operational environments, including Iraq, Afghanistan, NIE, and Ranger special forces deployments. 
 
UBCs provide a sophisticated and highly robust charging capability for a broad variety of batteries used in soldier-carried tactical environments. Ruggedized and designed to be highly flexible in remote environments where there is no commercial power grid or reliable power generation infrastructure, the Army will deploy UBCs at the squad or platoon level with the purpose of supporting self-sustaining operations (from battery resupply) for a minimum of 72 hours of additional use. 
 

Thales’ man-portable UBC solution is small enough to be carried in a rucksack and capable of charging a wide variety of battery types and configurations. It uses advanced, commercially available charging protocols and can be operated using commercial and alternative and/or renewable energy sources, such as solar panels. The Thales UBC platform can be powered from multiple AC/DC power sources, and it can be vehicle mounted (without modifications) with the use of a Vehicle Integration Kit (VIK). The system also provides monitoring and management tools that allow soldiers to determine and report battery energy status.  Thales’ UBC architecture meets open standards for all firmware and mechanical interfaces to allow for maximum interface flexibility, future system compatibility, and future upgrades to support new battery designs.
 
Thales remains committed to the U.S. Army’s UBC programs and to providing U.S. and allied forces with the most capable, best-in-class solutions on the market.
 
Thales’ UBC solution and accessories are manufactured at the company’s Clarksburg, Md. facilities.