The soldier of the future!

Foot soldier of the future

June 3 2003

The trooper of tomorrow will be a high-tech, hard-wired chameleon, report Garry Barker and Michael Regan.

The soldier who marches into battle 10 years from now will don a wired uniform capable of sealing wounds. Incorporating a massive array of technology, the lightweight kits will monitor vital signs, as well as stress levels, and have access to a huge network of powerful computers, satellites, unmanned planes and robotic ground vehicles.

He, or she, will also be able to see around corners.

The prototype uniform, or Scorpion Ensemble, is part of the US Defence Department's Future Combat System, on which the Pentagon plans to spend, initially, $US15 billion ($A23.06 billion).

The first battalions could be ready to begin trials of the system by 2010, US military planners say.

Weighing less than 23 kilograms, compared to a modern-day kit of 54 kilograms, the Scorpion undershirt is embedded with sensors to monitor heart rate, body temperature and respiration. Other features under development include built-in tourniquets to be tightened or loosened by remote control. The outer layer, or overall, will incorporate lightweight body armour and computer circuits to wire the soldier into the battlefield network. There will also be in-built reservoirs for water, ammunition and batteries.

The helmet will carry cutting-edge technology, including tiny, digital cameras to spot enemies in the dark or undergrowth. The images, sharper and clearer than from current night-sights, will appear on mini-screens attached to the helmets.

After the Iraq war, Defence Force chief Peter Cosgrove said Australian troops also must have an "information edge" in any future conflict.

"We've just seen 21st century warfare and we need to be able to do our part of that," General Cosgrove said.

Troops on patrol in Iraq could talk to fighter-bomber pilots and direct missile attacks, communicate over battlefield networks with their commanders, and use satellites to plot their positions. But the next generation of battlefield technology will go further. Troops fighting in urban arenas will be able to see inside buildings and around corners, while being themselves safer from attack.

Engineers in Melbourne are working on technology to allow divers to "see" mines and obstructions in silt-fogged water, and to allow soldiers to "see" through foliage, fog or dust and spot hidden enemies.

Other concepts being considered include chameleon-like camouflage cloth that changes appearance according to terrain. Some fabrics will be able to close their fibres to block out chemical agents or stiffen to form a splint or cast for a broken bone.

Robotic vehicles are also being developed to act as battlefield "mules" to haul supplies or heavy weapons.

All of this is in the future, according to General Cosgrove. "We've got to move from theory to innovating and implementation within a couple of years, and we shouldn't keep waiting for the next generation," he said.

The ISN wants to build, an ultra-light, ultra-strong and ultra-powerful exoskeleton. But the real super-soldier is far more than a human wearing an exoskeleton that imparts inhuman speed, strength and endurance. This nano-enabled exoskeleton will be made of molecular "smart materials" that also create the type of super-sensor powers.

When fully developed, this suit will make the American military practically unstoppable, and the “universal soldier” will be able to bring peace to the world

Originally posted by Styki
There is a lot of civilian technology that comes from military technology. We can take the same types of technology that makes the military stronger and convert it into something that makes the civilian world safer and more productive.

Here is a real question for you guys that im not sure about. When we were making nuclear weapons did we have nuclear power before that or did the idea of the weapon come first?

It would be possible for us to put all of our focus into making civilain advancements but then somebody who was focusing on military advancements would just come along and destory everything we were working on, then steal our civilain technology.

When we get to the point where we don't need to worry about other countries attacking us then we wont need to spend so much on the military/military advancements.

Styki

Originally posted by DrLeary


I saw a documentary about the h-bomb, and I remember one scene where I think Oppenheimer was looking at some calculations about this "splitting of the atom", and they asked what he thought. He simply said: a bomb! So I think the nuclear bomb came before the nuclear powerplant, but I haven't really researched it It's late and I'm lazy...