Pentagon could save lives by cutting fuel use-study

* Fuel convoys make troops vulnerable

* Casualties in Afghan war could more than double

* Big opportunity for defense companies

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The Pentagon could save lives and money by cutting its use of fuel and developing more alternative sources of energy, according to a new report released by the consulting firm Deloitte LLP.

This "national imperative" could also be a huge opportunity for U.S. defense and aerospace companies at a time of mounting pressures on the U.S. and global defense budgets, said Charles Wald, a retired U.S. Air Force general, senior adviser for Deloitte and co-author of the report.

Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N), Boeing Co (BA.N) and other big defense companies have already begun highlighting their work on alternative energy technologies and ways to improve energy efficiency.

Failure to change the Pentagon's approach could more than double the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan by 2014, the report warned. More than 900 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The report said developing and using alternative energy should be seen as a priority on a par with Pentagon efforts to develop new weapons, mine resistant armored trucks and sophisticated new sensors.

The U.S. military spent about $16 billion to buy 120 million barrels of oil in 2008, making it the single largest user of fuel in the United States, although its use amounted to just 1.7 percent of total U.S. consumption.

Wald said the U.S. military's high rate of fuel use made it especially vulnerable in Afghanistan, which is essentially served by only two convoy routes -- routes that are routinely targeted for roadside bomb attacks.

In fact, increased use of convoys to transport fuel and water -- which account for about 80 percent of the weight of everything the U.S. takes to war -- was a root cause of U.S. casualties, and there was no sign that the Pentagon intended to shift the strategy it used in Iraq, he said.

"That vulnerability ... is a clarion call to industry and the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy to work together as rapidly as we can," Wald told Reuters.

Wald said the Pentagon should adopt the urgent approach championed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who freed up billions of dollars to quickly develop, buy and field Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) trucks for use in Iraq.

The report found a 175 percent increase in the gallons of fuel consumed per U.S. soldier since the Vietnam war, and said each soldier now consumed about 22 gallons per day.

Fuel use has increased despite better fuel efficiency due to growing mechanization of technologies to fight wars, the need to transport troops and equipment over long distances, and the rugged terrain and irregular nature of current wars.