Future Warrior Suit 2020

Two future soldier combat uniform concepts were demonstrated to members of the US congress recently - a vision of what the American soldier will be wearing in 2010 and ten years hence in 2020. Both systems look straight out of a science fiction movie, with the 2020 concept bearing more than a passing resemblance to Star War's Darth Vader.

The two new uniform systems are being developed under the Future Combat System Program and include a weapon, head-to-toe individual protection, onboard computer network, soldier-worn power sources, and enhanced human performance.

The 2010 Future Force Warrior system will meet the more immediate, short-term demands of the battle space and leverage all the technologies and lessons learned from Afghanistan and Iraq. Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq carry large amounts of external weight, often 55 kilograms or more, to be battle-ready while the new uniform system weighs just 22 kilograms.

The body armor of the new uniforms will absorb the shock of a bullet much better than current bulletproof vests. The shell-like body armour has been stood off of the body by 5cm, so if the soldier is shot, the force is more evenly distributed to decrease injuries such as broken ribs.

Soldiers will be able to chat online with each other while they are walking down a jungle trail. The new system has the ability for each soldier to be tied into tactical local and wide-area networks with an onboard computer that sits at the base of the soldier's back. "We essentially call the 2010 soldier an 'F- 16 on legs' because it gives the soldier the same capabilities as they would normally have on aircraft and other platforms," explained Jean-Louis DeGay of the Soldier Systems Centre.

Soldiers will also be able to share data with vehicles, aircraft and other individual soldiers. "If an Apache helicopter was deployed forward and recorded real-time video of the enemy, the helicopter can send the video back to an individual soldier to observe," DeGay said.

A heads-up dosplay drops down from the helmet giving the soldier the equivalent of a see-through 17-inch computer monitor displaying anything relayed to the soldier. This allows soldiers to take in all supporting data while keeping both hands on their weapons.

Soldiers wearing the new system will have no need for an external microphone to communicate. "The helmet has sensors that register vibrations of the cranial cavity so I don't have to have a microphone in my mouth. That allows the soldier to control the entire computer via voice-activation," DeGay explained. Soldiers will be able to cycle through onboard menus via their eyewear device.

The onboard computer will monitor soldiers' overall physiological picture of how they are performing in the battle zone. "Warrior Physiological Status Monitoring System gives the soldier's body core temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, whether the soldier is standing or prone, and how much water the soldier has drunk," DeGay said.

...continued