LandWarrior
Latest
South Korea to develop new high-tech battle uniform - Halo fans approve wholeheartedly
In an obvious attempt to seduce impressionable teenage gamers into their armed forces the Republic of Korea will begin development of their own totally badass science fiction battle uniform early next year. In addition to a whopping 95% increase in awesomeness, the uniforms will feature a number of other technical enhancements, including a multifunction helmet with video transmitter, GPS display and voice recognition, a backpack with command / control and friendly-or-foe identification systems, a BDU that offers protection from nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, and the laser-guided, multi-function XK11 assault rifle, which shoots both standard NATO 5.56mm rounds and 20mm grenades. Did the future just get way cooler, or way scarier? Or both? We're not sure. But you can check that gun out yourself in the video after the break.
Army tests of Land Warrior high-tech uniform successful, soldiers request more
We knew the Army's supposedly-dead Land Warrior high-tech uniform program still had some life in it, but now it appears that good marks from tests in the field might mean it's going to make a full recovery. The Army sent the 4/9 Infantry (aka the "Manchus") off to war loaded down with the 16-pound Land Warrior kit, and after some on-the-fly adjustments that made the gear lighter and more functional, the soldiers had talked Land Warrior up to the point where the 2nd Infantry Division's 5th Combat Brigade Team has now officially requested 1,000 more Land Warrior rigs. The main change is the removal of six pounds of inessential gear, but the crew in the 4/9 also requested and added in a "digital chem light," which allows buildings and waypoints to be marked in green on an electronic map, and restricted Land Warrior deployment to team leaders and above. There's still some tricky funding problems to solve -- some $102M needs to be set aside for the request -- but the Land Warrior project managers say it's looking promising. Now if we could only get some of that HUD monocle action on the civilian side, our morning coffee run would be a lot more interesting.
Army's Land Warrior program back in action
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.
Army proposes cutbacks, Land Warrior not spared
Just a few weeks after the Army announced that the first battalion equipped with its high tech Land Warrior gear would be shipping out, it now looks to suddenly be putting the brakes on the program, proposing a $3.3 billion cut to its massive Future Combat Systems initiative. That cost cutting measure would not only take out the entire Land Warrior program, but a number of other futuristic weapons systems as well, and see other projects cut back or shifted to other areas. Of course, as Defense Tech points out, this is just a proposed cut, and given the recent changes at the Defense Department and in Congress, it's entirely possible that the Army will get the funding they want in the end. If not, us humans will have a few less tools at our disposal in our attempts to ward off the inevitable robot uprising.[Via docinthemachine]
Land Warrior gear to equip a US Army battalion
After 15 years in the making, our footsoldiers are finally getting the proper location-based gear that they need. Noah Shachtman, one of the finest experts on military technology out there, has just informed us via his blog, DefenseTech, that one Army battalion will be equipped with a bunch of wearable electronics, known collectively as the Land Warrior. The team leaders of the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry division (better known as the "Manchus", who are slated to be deployed to Iraq next year) will get the nearly 20-pound getup that includes weapon-mounted sensors, voice communications, GPS, a full-color visual interface via the monocle, and a long-range gun sight on the monocle as well. While only the team leaders will get the whole kit and caboodle for now, every soldier will get a GPS beacon, alerting the higher-ups to their sub rosa whereabouts.
