Technology Molds GI of the Future

They won't be invincible, but tomorrow's U.S. infantry may well lay claim to being the most effective fighting force the world has ever known.

Through its Land Warrior and Future Force programs, the Army is spending more than $400 million to demonstrate technologies that will completely transform the ground soldier through new weapons, body armor, and communications gear.

In addition, soldiers will multiply their own effectiveness many times over by tapping into a powerful communications network to harness 18 new platforms being built under the companion Future Combat Systems program. These systems range from mobile cannons and manned fighting vehicles to autonomous support and reconnaissance robots operating both on the ground and in the air (see another Design News article.)

"There will be a far greater situational awareness because the network will allow soldiers to see and understand much of the same data that others much higher in the chain of command see," says General Charles Cartwright, unit of action program manager for Future Combat Systems. "And if someone attacks an individual soldier, that data will be automatically sent to the network to let everyone else know where the attack came from."

The ultimate goal in this future-soldier effort: a tenfold increase in both the lethality and survivability of the average GI.

Robotic "mule" vehicle, one of many new Future Combat Systems platforms, will support infantry squads by carrying supplies and acting as a recharging center for power supplies.

From the lab to the field

In February, the Army merged its future-soldier technology efforts under the management of General Dynamics C4 Systems (Scottsdale, AZ). The Land Warrior program focuses on near-term technologies, some of which are already being introduced into the field, while Future Force explores innovations that may not be implemented on a widespread basis until after 2010.

Both programs will follow a "spiral development" strategy aimed at introducing new technology on a continuous basis to soldiers in the field. For example, the 18^th Airborne already began training last year with one of the program's early communications devices, the Commander's Digital Assistant (CDA). Operating on a Windows CE system, the lightweight, handheld device features an Intel x-scale 500+ MHz processor and a color LCD touch screen with drop-down menus. Linked to communications satellites, the digital assistant incorporates a global positioning system, which can track a soldier's location within 10m and update it every 30 seconds.

During operations, soldiers can use the new CDA to send digital and voice messages, request support at specific locations, and map locations of ground forces. For instance, if a soldier spots a sniper, he can enter the information into the CDA, to be shared with all other soldiers who have the device. "The device helps soldiers get messages across with speed and precision," says Lt. Col. David Gallop, product manager for Land Warrior. "It helps cut through the fog of war."

The Commander's Digital Assitant combines voice and text messages with GPS capability.

Among other emerging Land Warrior communications technologies that have been demonstrated in prototype form is a helmet-mounted, heads-up display that shows the soldier both friendly and enemy positions. The system operates on Saft rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs that last up to eight hours.

In weaponry, the 8.8-lb M4 carbine, equipped with a rail mount for a thermal sight, remains the basic Land Warrior weapon. However, analysts expect to see introduction of the new XM8 assault rifle in some units as early as 2006. Based on the Heckler & Koch G 36, the XM8 final design calls for a weight of just 5.7 lbs, including an integrated sight with infrared laser and illuminator. The soldier controls the sight through a wireless switch mounted on the weapon.

The new weapon could also set new standards for reliability and low maintenance.

For example, the design prevents carbon buildup by venting 90 percent of the gases created during firing through a port under the front barrel. As a result, Heckler & Koch claims that the XM8 can fire more than 15,000 rounds without the need for lubrication and cleaning.

Mark Showah, director of Intelligent Network Systems for General Dynamics C4, adds that the lethality of Land Warrior soldiers will be improved through advanced weapon-mounted optics, which are then integrated into the soldier's helmet-mounted display to provide augmented visual information, day or night. "There will be automated indirect fire capability, using a digital laser range finder, the soldier's own GPS location, and the digital messaging capability from the soldier's radio and computer," says Showah.

In 2006, the Army intends to allocate nearly $60 million to equip an experimental battalion with many of the new Land Warrior technologies, along with the Stryker eight-wheeled combat vehicle. The Stryker vehicles will foreshadow the planned FCS platforms by serving as a communication link and power recharge source.

Future Force Warrior program extends the technologies of Land Warrior to include lighter armor and more compact electronics and other gear.

Preparing the future force

At the Army's Soldier Systems Center (SSC) in Natick, MA, engineers also have been using battle-tested GIs for feedback on elements of the Future Force Warrior program. The goal here: Equip a 45-man platoon head to toe with a completely new combat suite for a field demonstration by 2007, with widespread implementation after 2010. Among the innovations being explored by some 25 contractors:

• Lighter-weight body armor will be more comfortable, yet effective enough to withstand rounds from a machine gun. Instead of resting directly on the skin, the armor will sit on pads, which create air channels that cool the body and provide additional ballistic shock absorption. Interceptor body army already demonstrated in the Land Warrior program can stop shrapnel and 9 mm bullets.

• In the helmet, a drop-down eyepiece will serve double duty for computer images and night vision, while bone-conduction sensors replace traditional microphones and speakers. Kopin Corp., a major contractor for the eyepiece, will provide a micro display that is smaller than a postage stamp yet provides an ultra-wide-angle, HDTV-quality picture. Also part of the helmet assembly: built-in laser eye protection and a chemical/biological mask.

• Every soldier will carry a ruggedized, network-linked PC, weighing about 3.5 lbs and stowed in a pouch at the small of the back. It will be controlled by voice command or toggle switches located on the chest or mounted on the weapon.

• A physiology-monitoring system, consisting of a pill with built-in transmitter and sensors inserted in the uniform, will send data on a soldier's body temperature, heart rate, and respiration to remote medical personnel.

Overall, the Future Force program aims to cut the total weight of equipment and supplies that a soldier totes into battle for a 72-hour mission from as much as 120 lbs to just 50 or 60 lbs, says Jean-Louis "Dutch" DeGay, an SSC equipment specialist and former Army Ranger captain.

"In the past, we've treated soldiers like Christmas trees, piling on more and more widgets," says DeGay. "That is why we need this complete, integrated redesign of the entire system from the skin out. It's a revolution, not an evolution."

With these new technologies, it will cost an estimated $12,000 to outfit the Future Force Warrior for battle, versus $2,200 today, according to DeGay.

Tapping the network

Tomorrow's soldiers also will benefit from a whole raft of new support, reconnaissance, and attack vehicles—all linked by a sophisticated communications network. Every infantry squad, for example, will be backed by a robotic logistics vehicle, called the MULE, which will charge power packs needed for electronics systems and carry much of the individual soldier's food, fuel, and other supplies.

GIs will be responsible for controlling small ground and arial reconnaissance robots are weighing less than 30 lbs, such as the "PackBot" from Massachusetts-based iRobot.

Individual soldiers will also control new ground-based surveillance and bomb-detection robots small enough to carry in their backpacks, as well as launch 15-lb vertical takeoff aerial reconnaissance vehicles. In addition, new embedded training systems will allow soldiers to rehearse missions as they ride to battle in personnel carriers.

All told, such future soldier technologies, defense experts say, will give tomorrow's 12-man squad the fighting effectiveness of a 45-man platoon today. Says DeGay of the Soldier Systems Center: "There's no doubt that our soldiers will be the most lethal force on the battlefield, no matter where they're deployed."