Army's Land Warrior program back in action
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted June 25th 2007 3:11PM
posted June 25th 2007 3:11PM
Back in the wild, cost-be-damned heyday of 2006, the US military was flying high with its "Land Warrior" technology, a multi-part combat system combining wearable GPS sat-nav, weapon-mounted sensors, and a full color heads-up display (viewed via a sinister looking monocle). But like all good military spending parties, this one came to a close just a few months after it was announced with an order to cut $3.3 billion in funding for the Future Combat Systems initiative. Now, however, it seems that the Senate Armed Services Committee has opted to partially reinstate the program (likely to the chagrin of some soldiers, for whom the gear adds 15 lbs of extra load), allowing two additional battalions to be equipped (joining the single battalion currently using the technology), and spending another $30 million on development and improvement. Now, if only the army would reinstate that Skynet program.
Nice Terminator reference!
Skynet is not self aware. Therefore it is not online, yet.
When will the army get full faced helmets?! Only when I can pretend to be Master Chief will I join...
As a former Marine and OIF vet...no TROOP (Soldier is not a universal time), would blink an eye for carrying 15 more lbs if it gave you instant SA (situational awareness). The same way we didnt complain about our SAP (small arms protection) plates for our body armor ~15lbs a piece. But then again...the Marine Corps wont see this till the Army is ready to get rid of it when they brake it lol...ARMY (Aint Ready for Marines Yet)
"Now, if only the army would reinstate that Skynet program."
Actually, Skynet was developed by the U.S. Air Force.........
I thought it was Cyberdyne Industries? Skynet would be the only thing self-aware at the Air Force.
Leave it to the Chair Force
As an ex USAF puke... skynet is a British developed system run by the MOD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_%28satellites%29
Equipment will have to be battle proven of course. Hopefully we will see the day
Marine(Muscles Are Required Intelligence Not Essential) Thats why there not ready to be Marines
Intelligence not essential? Check the standards. Many more people got in the Army with waivers, than people who joined the Marines. You have to have a high school diploma to join the Marine Corps.....it's only optional for the Army/National Guard. Ooh-rah......
*claps* I've never heard that one before...and yea...Marines arent known for their intellegence...but no better friend...no worse enemy.
btw...i was a systems integrator and network engineer whilest in the Corps cant really get into what i was doing...but I turned down the Naval Academy to be there.
one question begs to be answered
Whats the battery time on this thing?
And of course, Will it play quake ?
Dude, your in a real battle, who needs quake?
Dude, that question was just for kicks....quake was the ultimate test of hardware performance 10 years ago.
Isn't it But will it play Doom?
lol it was a joke like mentioned above like evrything else....
and the highschool diploma means litle these days such as an associates doesnt take anything to get one
From David: "I thought it was Cyberdyne Industries?"
From Wiki...
After Cyberdyne was destroyed, the Defense Department took over the company's various research projects and brought them in-house as its Cyber Systems Research Division. In contrast to Terminator 2, it is implied that humans are ignorant of Skynet's sentience, which attacked humanity without any provocation whatsoever. The events of Judgment Day were ultimately not prevented, merely postponed. Ten years after the events of Terminator 2, Skynet was created as a United States Air Force project, a distributed computer network designed to create new military vehicles and make strategic decisions as well as protect their computer systems from virus attacks. One such virus had infected their defense computers, crippling them all. Under pressure, the Air Force attempted to use Skynet to remove the virus, not realizing that Skynet was sentient and had created the virus in order to manipulate humanity into giving it control over the world's computers.
Contrary to the article, the Land Warrior Program has been around and in various stages of development for over 20 years. I don't know what was "recently announced" in 2006, but this is not a "new" program.
Is it just me or does it not seem like depth perception is kind of an important asset for foot soldiers in combat? How the hell does this monocle not screw everything up?
agreed...but i think this would be something the user would flip down to get an update on whats what...and flip it up when not used, especially considering the pic has the Soldier covering his right eye...and since he is right handed...he couldnt look down that nightvision scope of his.
The night vision googles we used didnt have any depth perception and we only used it when we absolutly needed it...i know two guys that didnt make it because they were driving with the googles on (which we have to do sometimes) and the humvee fell into a canal...so yes...depth perception is important.
It could just overlay your vision with graphics. Or maybe his right eye sees through the sight of his gun if he toggles it.
In any case, it'll be damn disturbing when this technology gets passed down to police that can use it to scan whether you're in your house by the newly instated federal curfew.
and all this fancy cr*p doesn't mean a thing when the "angle of death pisses in your flintlock". Fancy electronics pasted on 40 year old M16/M4 hulks firing undersized 5.56mm rounds, that's progress !
You do have a point...but the 5.56 round wont change unless NATO decides to go bigger...also, the 5.56 round is designed to enter small and tumble when it enters the body ripping everything apart and taking a big chunk out when it exits. The 7.62 doesnt tumble...both rounds have pros and cons, obviously more stopping and penetration power...but i'll stick with my m-16's accuracy and 5.56mm rounds.
@ trexforaname
Thanks for your comment! If you can dish it out...you should be able to take it and have a laugh...assuming you were or are in the Army...we're all brothers, we should be able to pick on eachother like a family...besides...better to be in the Army than to be a puke civillian (not by much though...j/k lol)
if you think about it, the 5.56 round is pretty much a .22 round with a lot more powder in the cartridge, so it's not that much stopping power.
@MikeyJ
...and not all the ass-kickers over there are military. We Feds are kicking ass and taking names in the desert too.
Let's hear some love for your 3-letter agency puke civilian brothers. We do the drrrty work...
mikeyj you are the man!!!! cool like you bro to take a joke
It's a pile of crap, just ask the soldiers that use it. The processor doesn't have enough bandwidth to provide the sort capibilities... eg. digital camera.
good to see that its still getting some funding, are troops need this kinda stuff a lot more then navy needs a new carrier. (yes, I'm biased cause I hate carriers, in any "real" war...the carriers would be destroyed first...and no, they couldn't survive it, they are way to vunerable and way to much money).
... was that comment really just an excuse to rip on the effectiveness (or lack there of) of carriers?
Haven't I seen you on the fanboy boards over at ZDnet?
Just like the first Titan in EVE-Online. Got wiped out way to quick...
in regards to the display, you keep both eyes open and you don't lose depth, its a hologram, like in aircraft or on an eotech.
In regards to the 5.56 you would think that it had no stopping power......until you see someone get hit with one of yours and die before he hits the ground, then you learn alot more about the physics of how it works. under 300 meters I sure don't want one coming at me again, it WILL kill you.
@Murc
Carriers are about projecting power in peacetime/non-nuclear warfare. There is no more fearsome marine blockade than a full US aircraft carrier battle group.
Of course, all bets are off if nuclear weapons are freed, but then, really, what stands up to nuclear weaponry?