The Army has spent decades searching for a replacement for the M2 Bradley, but mechanized warfare in 2026 is increasingly shaped by a far smaller piece of equipment. Soldiers moving with armored formations often want to know where they can charge their phones.

“Everything you need lives on your phone,” a company commander in a mechanized unit said. Infantry soldiers use specialized smartphone applications to communicate with one another and their chain of command.

The officer said his soldiers rely on encrypted applications operating through Amazon’s AWS-Wickr cloud network, along with tracking tools known as the Android Team Awareness Kit. Radios, satellite links, sensors, drones and electronic warfare systems place even greater demands on available electricity.

“How we get power to the forward line of battle is the big question,” said the officer, who spoke anonymously to discuss challenges facing units like his.

Many armored vehicles, including Bradleys and Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles, supply power only while their engines are running. “That creates a signature which drones can see,” the officer said.

Turning off the engine may reduce that signature, but it also cuts access to power. A dead phone can leave a team without contact with commanders, maps or tracking information.

“The Brads don’t have any kind of charging port,” the officer said. Vehicle computers may have USB ports intended for a mouse, but soldiers are barred from connecting personal phones because malware could transfer from the device.

During a recent exercise, soldiers brought civilian battery packs purchased at Walmart and charged them through the mouse ports. The officer said that workaround may also conflict with Army device security rules, but it reflects the practical reality facing mechanized troops.

Image Credit: DoW

The Army is now developing equipment and doctrine to distribute electricity in ways resembling the supply networks used for ammunition, water and medical materiel. The 509th Infantry Regiment, known as the Geronimo Battalion, has developed a “Round Robin” battery rotation system at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Large diesel generators positioned behind forward lines charge dozens of batteries simultaneously to 75%. Higher charge levels can make batteries unstable during transportation and storage.

The batteries then move forward in small groups with their contact ports covered by tape. Smaller elements use 700 watt power packs to charge them further before installing them in drones and radios, while depleted batteries return to the main charging hub.

“A drone launch team without recharge capability becomes irrelevant after its first sortie,” wrote Maj. Sean McLachlan, who served as deputy supply officer for the 25th Infantry Division during a 2024 exercise. “A sensor network that loses power becomes a dead node. A command post that goes dark loses tempo.”

During that rotation at the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, the division’s 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team carried generators, inverters, large energy storage modules and soldier carried solar panels. Soldiers received almost no training, but color coded cables and plug and play features helped Gen Z troops operate the equipment.

Problems emerged beyond the squad and platoon levels. Traditional heavy generators made little sense for small units trying to move quickly and quietly while charging relatively small electronics, drones and radio batteries.

“The 15- and 30-kilowatt generators often operate at less than 10% capacity,” McLachlan wrote. Those generators also required fuel and produced heat and noise that opposing drones and sensors could detect.

Image Credit: DoW

The brigade responded by positioning generators farther behind its formations, where they could charge numerous batteries at full capacity while operating fewer hours. Batteries traveled forward aboard squad vehicles or beneath drones in rugged cases, allowing dispersed troops to use electronics and launch drones for days without abandoning cover.

“Battlefield energy planning functions much like the Army’s water sustainment model,” McLachlan wrote. “If a drone can kill a tank, then the battery that powers it must be treated with the same logistical priority as a Javelin missile.”

The Army’s aging armored fleet remains central to that challenge. The M113 is being replaced by the BAE built Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, first fielded in 2020 and placed into full production in 2023, while the Bradley replacement effort continues.

The XM30 is now in the prototype stage, with American Rheinmetall and General Dynamics Land Systems delivering Lynx and Wolf prototypes this fall. Each vehicle is designed for operation by as few as two soldiers while carrying six more, although the Army has delayed Milestone B approval.

The service is also pursuing a vehicle built specifically to generate electricity. Jesse Tolleson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, told a Senate subcommittee that the proposed ISV-Heavy would focus on power generation for mobile brigade combat teams, where he said a critical capability gap exists.