FIELD POWER
ELECTRICAL SUPPLY

Source 1 — Portable Power Station

Jackery Explorer 500 stores 518Wh in lithium iron phosphate cells. Pure sine wave output at 230V AC (European) or 12V DC via Anderson PowerPole. Charges the ISDT Q6 Pro at full 300W draw for approximately 1.7 hours before depletion. At a sustainable 200W draw (two chargers plus accessories), runtime extends to 2.5 hours. Weight: 10 kg. Noise: zero — critical when operating near the front line where generator noise attracts attention and counter-battery fire. The station is the default power source for all drone operations shorter than 2 hours.

Recharge from solar: 6-8 hours with 100W panel in Swedish summer. Recharge from vehicle: 3-4 hours via 12V cigarette lighter with DC-DC converter. Recharge from generator: 1.5 hours at 500W input. Recharge from grid: 2 hours (when available in rear areas). The station accepts input from any source — its versatility makes it the backbone of field power.

Source 2 — Solar Panel

100W monocrystalline panel (€150, 5 kg folded) produces 60-80W effective output in Swedish summer daylight (latitude 58-68°N, June-August). In winter (November-February), output drops to 20-30W due to short days and low sun angle. The panel connects directly to the Jackery via MC4 to Anderson adapter. During operations, the panel charges the station while the station charges batteries — continuous operation without depletion as long as sunlight exceeds consumption.

Tactical placement: position the panel facing south at 45° angle behind cover (building, vehicle, terrain feature). The panel's reflective surface is visible from above — an observation drone or satellite can spot it. Camouflage net with 50% light transmission reduces visibility while maintaining 50% power output. In contested areas, this tradeoff (half power vs detection risk) is worth accepting. In rear areas, maximum output without camouflage.

Source 3 — Generator

Honda EU10i inverter generator: 1000W continuous, 13 kg, 8 hours runtime on 2.3 liters of fuel. Noise level: 52 dBA at 7 meters — equivalent to a quiet conversation. This is the quietest generator in its class but still audible at 100+ meters in quiet environments. In combat: generator noise can reveal the drone team's position. Use only when: portable station depleted, solar unavailable (night, overcast), and mission requires continued operations.

Fuel logistics: 2.3 liters per 8 hours = 6.9 liters per 24-hour operation. Standard NATO fuel can: 20 liters = 2.9 days of continuous generation. The drone team's fuel requirement is negligible compared to vehicle fuel consumption — a single Terrängbil consumes 20 liters in 2 hours of driving. Generator fuel piggybacks on existing vehicle fuel logistics with zero additional supply chain burden.

Battery Charging — The Operational Bottleneck

ISDT Q6 Pro charger: 6S 1300mAh LiPo at 5A charge rate = 25 minutes from storage voltage (3.85V) to full (4.2V). Four charge ports: four batteries simultaneously = 300W draw. At 10 sorties per hour (high-intensity operations), the team expends 10 batteries per hour. With 25-minute charge cycles and 4 parallel ports, throughput is 9.6 batteries per hour — barely sufficient. One dead charger port drops throughput below mission demand.

Solution: second Q6 Pro charger (€60, 200g). Eight parallel ports = 19.2 batteries per hour — comfortable margin even at high intensity. The €60 investment in a second charger prevents the entire drone capability from being bottlenecked by charging infrastructure. This is the cheapest force multiplier in the entire system.

Fuel Logistics Integration

Generator fuel consumption (2.3 liters per 8 hours for Honda EU10i) piggybacks on existing vehicle fuel logistics with zero additional supply chain burden. A single standard NATO fuel can (20 liters) provides 2.9 days of continuous generation — far exceeding any realistic operational requirement since the generator is the tertiary source used only when station and solar are both unavailable. The drone team does not require a dedicated fuel resupply line — they draw from the platoon or company vehicle fuel allocation. This logistical invisibility means drone operations add zero complexity to the existing supply chain.

Field Power Budget — Drone Platoon

Implementation

# Field Power Supply Sizing Calculator
class PowerBudget:
    """Calculate daily energy requirements and supply options."""

    def __init__(self):
        self.loads = {}

    def add_load(self, name: str, watts: float, hours_per_day: float):
        self.loads[name] = watts * hours_per_day  # Wh/day

    def total_daily_wh(self) -> float:
        return sum(self.loads.values())

    def battery_autonomy_days(self, battery_wh: float) -> float:
        return battery_wh / self.total_daily_wh() if self.total_daily_wh() else 0

    def solar_shortfall_wh(self, panel_watts: float, sun_hours: float) -> float:
        produced = panel_watts * sun_hours  # Wh/day
        return max(0, self.total_daily_wh() - produced)

# Platoon example
budget = PowerBudget()
budget.add_load("FPV charging", 300, 4)         # 4h active charging
budget.add_load("Fischer 26 charging", 600, 3)  # 3h active
budget.add_load("COP laptop", 50, 8)
budget.add_load("MANET radio", 20, 24)
budget.add_load("Lighting/misc", 30, 8)

print(f"Daily Wh:         {budget.total_daily_wh():.0f}")
print(f"Delta 2 Max days: {budget.battery_autonomy_days(2048):.2f}")
print(f"Solar shortfall:  {budget.solar_shortfall_wh(400, 5):.0f} Wh (summer)")
print(f"Solar shortfall:  {budget.solar_shortfall_wh(400, 1):.0f} Wh (winter)")

← Part of Platoon Integration

Related Chapters

Sources

Jackery Explorer 500 specifications. Honda EU10i generator manual. ISDT Q6 Pro charger documentation. Solar panel efficiency at Nordic latitudes (SMHI solar radiation data). FSG-A field power configuration v2.0.