The U.S. Army has unveiled a concept of its future
soldier that resembles Darth Vader and possesses superhuman strength.
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Soldier of the future.
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"Think of yourself on steroids. You can hold as much as you want for as
long as you want," Staff Sgt. Robert Atkinson, of U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center, said. "The technology is there, and once we get it all in
place the soldier will be unstoppable."
The concepts sought to maximize the survivability, sustainability,
mobility, combat effectiveness, and quality of life of warfighters. One
concept displayed photovoltaic, a solar fabric that could be mounted on
tents or canvas and generate up to 1,000 watts of electricity.
The concept was presented to Congress in a Defense Department exhibition
at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington on June 16, Middle East Newsline reported.
Other displays included the army's Armor Survivability Kit, an enhanced
armor plating and glass capable of stopping high-caliber bullets shot from
point-blank range. The army has already begun to install the armor in a
range of platforms deployed in Iraq.
During
"Soldiers Modernization Day," members of Congress and staffers were briefed
on future concepts by several military research and development labs,
including the Natick Center's Future Warrior
Concepts Lab, located at the U.S. Army
Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass.
"The purpose of this display is to demonstrate to the American public
the active process of research and development and how we take science and
technology today and transfer that to equipment on the battlefield," Army
Sgt. Maj. Joel Crouse, of the Soldier Systems Center at the Natick Lab,
said.
"We installed 40,000 of these windows in roughly 12,000 Humvees," Maj.
Dan Rusin, of the Army Research Lab, said. "It's a special kind of steel, a
special kind of glass for protection. It will protect against multiple shots
of a sniper rifle at very close range."
The focus of the exhibition was a uniform designed for soldiers 20 years
from now. The black padded suit and helmet marked a prototype developed as
part of the Future Force Warrior project and the Future Combat System
program.
The helmet system for the suit would contain a tiny computer system and
monitor designed to maintain communications with commanders. The suit would
also feature thermal night vision goggles as well as a nanotechnology system
meant to provide electrical impulses sent to the human
muscles to enhance their strength.
The army also demonstrated its new Land Warrior System, which contains a
helmet-mounted display to enable the soldier to view computer-generated
graphical data, digital maps, intelligence information, troop locations and
imagery from his weapon-mounted thermal weapon sight and
video camera. Officials said 400 of the systems would be fielded in 2006.
"What it enables me to do is look around corners or look into a room
without exposing myself to danger or enemy fire," Staff Sgt. Reuben
Romero said.
