Ultralife upgrades its UBI-2590 batteries for military use
Battery specialist Ultralife Corporation has upgraded its entire range of UBI-2590 batteries inspired by the superseded military performance specification 32383/3.
With its high energy-density and SmartCircuit technology, the battery is designed for a wide range of military and defence applications, including robotics, automated underwater vehicles (AUVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and communication systems.
Effectively referred to as the UBI-2590 MGPP product family, it consists of three variants; the UBBL02-01, UBBL10-01 and UBBL13-01 fully replacing their similarly numbered predecessors: the UBBL02, UBBL10 and UBBL13. These highly improved products can be clearly identified by their added part number suffix, “-01”. Also with a demand for the legacy UBI-2590 battery range from non-military customers, Ultralife has also released commercially labelled versions with the same performance as the -01’s; the UBBL02-01-CB, UBBL10-01-CB and UBBL13-01-CB. These batteries come with numerous regulatory compliances for quick international market delivery.
With the introduction of the new '-01' and '-CB' versions customers now have the most extensive range of thirteen BB-2590 styled batteries from which to choose.
By combining Ultralife’s SmartCircuit technology and SMBus v1.1 interface, the rechargeable Lithium-ion version battery can communicate with compatible devices and chargers to provide accurate runtime predictions, safety indications and maintenance optimization.
The range also features dual LCD displays that indicate the absolute state of charge of each battery, allowing it to be easily monitored directly by the user to inform them when to shut down or recharge the battery. This same information can be accessed remotely, and even automatically, by a host device via the SMBus contacts. This improves on the traditional voltage cut-off management that most batteries rely on and provides a more predictable performance.
The UBI-2590 MGPP range has arrived at a time when the European military and defence market is increasing its budget for the first time in nearly a decade. Designed to be reliable in tough conditions, the -01 variants are enclosed in rugged cases and has improved cold temperature discharge performance, effectively operating at temperatures ranging from -32 to 60 degrees Celsius.
“While many critical military communication devices are powered by batteries, the challenge for most manufacturers is creating a more powerful and compact battery,” explained Johnathan Celso, Applications Engineer at Ultralife Corporation and Accutronics.
“For covert military operations, there is usually a 72-hour deployment window and so batteries for devices on these types of operations must last extended periods of time before thye can be recharged. This type of performance is especially critical if a mission is being conducted in an area with harsh environments.”
“To counter this, Ultralife’s UBI-2590 MGPP battery range has been designed as a suitable, rechargeable power source for military communication devices. Inspired by the new MIL-PRF-32383/3 specification, the product line has been made so that it is completely interoperable with other Ultralife accessories and chargers providing a seamless integration for customers currently using the Ultralife legacy UBI-2590 products.”
Military device manufacturers can integrate the batteries into their devices around the world and the battery is now available in the desert tan colour.