Sunday, January 20, 2013

10 Technologies the U.S. Military Will Need For the Next War

Throughout American history, advances in military capabilities havebeen driven by innovation. All branches of the armed forces have always been able to use technology in new and creative ways to gain an advantage over the enemy.



The wars of the last decade has shown a "lack of innovation" that forced the U.S. military lost time, and reacting to enemy tactics - such as IEDs and sniper attacks - rather than anticipate them. The Ministry of device research and development of defense has been slow to respond with new weapons and upgrade based on evolving threats. Critics have called the Pentagon to stop wasting money on scientific projects that address hypothetical wars indefinite future, focus on systems that know the needs of deployed forces, and go on the ground in the coming weeks or months, not years or decades. 
 Innovation is not useful if it helps troops war issues. How many senior Pentagon officials said a 80 percent solution that could be available in the coming months is better than a perfect result, this could take years or decades.

In this special report, national defense identified 10 key technologies that U.S. forces will definitely need the next war. No matter where or when this conflict may be, it is generally accepted that progress in key areas, U.S. forces would certainly.

Examples are the fastest helicopters and quieter, advanced weapons of crowd control, the light infantry of this equipment, trucks and communications best ultralight battlefields. In the maritime sector, the Marine leader for years in search of stealth mini-submarine that can be remote control boats and motor operations bulletproof security and anti-piracy along the coast.

Specific information about the enemy army is always the wish list, and success in future conflicts require technologies capable of continuous monitoring to help identify enemy and friendly forces. The robots that can operate autonomously expensive are essential instruments of war, not necessarily firearms, but to perform routine tasks such as delivering goods.




Also on the wish list is a renewable energy that reduces reliance on fuel supplies to the armed forces. Transportation fuel in war zones has become one of the most dangerous enemies because it is the lifeblood of the military machine of the United States. Almost everything that helps reduce this demand is likely to be welcome.


The list of 10 technologies that follow specific orders not qualifying.


Faster, quieter, safer helicopters
■ When the Taliban shot down a helicopter special operations MH-47 Chinook in Afghanistan this summer, killing 30 U.S. soldiers, was seen as proof that U.S. forces must helicopters aunt. Operators and special evacuation units, in particular, need more speed to reach not only the critical areas of the battlefield faster, but too expensive to be able to avoid enemy fire

.

As secret mission that killed Osama bin Laden wanted to show the need for swift, silent, rotary-wing aircraft less detectable. An invisible helicopter changed in difficulty in this operation crashed, bringing out another problem with the current generation of military helicopters: they are more prone to accidents during takeoff and landing.

These demands for speed, noise and safety, manufacturers must move away from the traditional models of helicopters, which connects experts airspeed around 170 knots That the Chinook CH-47 currently equal.


Tilt-rotor argue that the military should buy more V-22 Osprey, which can reach a cruising speed of 250 knots.

"In 50 years, the Air Force put a lot of these machines," said Emilio Dalmasso, senior vice president of commercial activity in AgustaWestland, a partnership with the BA-609 Bell tiltrotor. "He who has the ability to take off and land like a helicopter but then fly like an airplane."



The tilt-rotor has been controversial due to accidents and its high cost, but engineers use design as a means to improve the speed and performance. An Atlanta-based startup has Proposed Oliver VTOL aircraft with six engines, called Hexplane, artist rendering looks a bit "as the V-22 with additional wings and rotors. CEO Richard Oliver said the plane was capable of flying at over 35,000 feet to approximately 350 knots.


Other manufacturers that offer greater speed with a traditional style. Sikorsky uses two counter-rotating blades and the tail propeller pushing. The company is preparing for the concept of armed scout program Air Force, which aims to replace the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior.

AVX Aircraft Co.. Proposes updating the OH-58 double rotor with the same concept, but the rear blades to reduce noise. Helicopters struggling to cover the attack on bin Laden rear rotors to silence. They also presented a special coating to avoid detection by Pakistani radar.

Although all Navy Seals on board survived the crash of the container consists Laden, helicopter accidents are second only to improvised explosive devices, causing the soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Most accidents occur during takeoff or landing. "Brown-out", where sand flies and dust reduce visibility of the pilot, pose a danger to the foreground.


Manufacturers are studying how the leaves change shape during flight, such as aircraft components do during takeoff and landing. Following the concept AugustaWestland ice using a sheet with extreme torsional paddle on the end of it This helps reduce brown outs.

BAE Systems recently introduced a product that will allow pilots to see through dust, fog and smoke, said Paul Cooke, director of business development for defense avionics for BAE. The technology, which could alter the CH-47 and V-22, uses a radar that scans before the aircraft to detect all obstacles. Then show what looks to pilots so they can land safely.


Guns do not kill
■ Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said one day in the future, "the United States can not kill or capture its way to victory."

Ten years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, where it can be almost impossible for troops to distinguish between combatants and local people said calls for more non-lethal weapons. The troops could use these tools - already widely used by the police - to temporarily disable opponents or teams without harming civilians nearby. They also need devices that operate over long distances to unknown vehicles or personal content until you can determine if they pose a threat.


Non-lethal weapons can range from rubber bullets and pepper spray for high power lasers, speakers and lights that cause disorientation. These weapons will be even more important for a soldier who has high ceilings functions away from the battlefield, provide humanitarian assistance and support to civil society organizations, and conduct emergency evacuations, crowd control and keeping missions peace of others.



The Ministry of Defence develops these technologies as a whole nonlethal weapons Department, which has developed the towers pouf 12 languages ​​gillnets. The services are increasing their efforts and, with new devices and training in collaboration with civilian agencies of law enforcement in the United States and abroad.


A company of Marines at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina, recently made the switch from an infantry unit in an "anti-terrorist battalion" who is trained to detect and respond to the crisis of the situation after a terrorist attack. The game has just completed a year in which aid nonlethal tactics and devices to present the rebels.

The Army is presenting a "distraction" branched flash causing a loud explosion and after hitting the ground. The M-98 has a range of 150 meters and can be fired from vehicle-mounted launchers. Pomegranates are affected checkpoints to warn drivers to slow input.


But experts say that modern technology more useful forces nonlethal directed energy weapons, which allows troops to influence opponents in various fields, claen at sea

Boeing has worked with BAE Systems to build a laser to Navy ships, so that a component of a non-lethal weapon, distance fatal. The laser can be afflicted as a tool for the precise orientation of http://taiwantravelgo.blogspot.com/the weapon, but it would be too costly able to supply enough power to disrupt or destroy just burning optical materials and disable enemy weapons, Boeing officials said.

BAE Systems has an expensive laser that emits a visual warning long distances disorient opponents on another ship or boat. The glow of the light beam does not harm, but is strong enough to make it impossible to aim weapons, BAE officials said.

A directed energy weapon developed by Raytheon Co.. cause a burning sensation on the skin. The active system provides a cease beam of electromagnetic radiation in the same way an excellent meal in the microwave oven for heating. But the millimeter waves do not penetrate the skin deep enough to cause permanent damage.

The Ministry of Defence has given $ 3.2 million to start a business TeraDiode Inc. combine multiple laser diodes into a single more powerful beam. The company no longer speak publicly about its technology, but before my mom officials said the contracts could lead to better targeting and navigation, as well as non-lethal antipersonnel weapons.

Inventions that ease the burden of the soldier
■ For the troops have the best chance of surviving and winning wars, must carry a mix of teams that includes, among others, communications equipment, weapons, ammunition and batteries.

However, these elements added dozens of books to soldiers and carry heavy body armor. The robust environment in Afghanistan, where troops mile hike in the rarified air of the mountain, it has become imperative that government scientists and industry to find ways to reduce costs by up to 100 kg.

The Army focuses on shedding the weight through technology and logistics. If soldiers can rely on their food, water and ammunition is definitely a place to come, have less weight to carry. The Army is investigating plagued accurately drop GPS guided "smart" parachute gear for more air to the front.

Officials expressed expensive, not entered a mule robot being developed by Boston Dynamics. The machine can carry more than 400 pounds and is followed with a ground unit or be programmed to respond to the troops at maximum speed certainly withtheir position.

Energy is one of the sensitive issues of weight problems, military representatives. The batteries needed to power radios and other electronics account for one fifth of the total weight carried by soldiers in theater, said. During a three-day mission, the soldiers carry seven different types of batteries that can add 20 pounds to your load.

The army wants to create portable power systems and higher voltage batteries require less overhead. Scientists are too expensive Survey concept of clothing material that can act as a bus for transferring electrical energy around divided according to needs. These innovations could free the military to commit as many batteries. Inaccessible special fibers have to change with time, which eliminates the need for extra packaging structures layers of low temperatures.

Unsustainable Exoskeletons can help combat troops on the fly, without hesitation. Loading universal human support, or HULC, developed by Lockheed Martin and the military is a mobile robot with slats this weight transfer from the back of a soldier on the ground. Throughout the system suitability sensors enable the exoskeleton to imitate a soldier. Even if the tests are ongoing, officials thought he could certainly carry up to 200 pounds.

However, all soldiers must wear body armor, which continues to cause problems for designers seeking a balance between protection, comfort and weight. The shirt worn by soldiers norm now weighs about 35 kilos. The measure army sizes and shapes of soldiers who find a way to outline the armor to make you feel lighter, but weighs the same as spamming, said Jack Obusek, director of the Army Natick Soldier Research Center, Development and Engineering, Massachusetts.

Officials in this study because nanomaterials that could revolutionize lightweight body armor, are many years away from reality.

Nanotechnology may one day be able to provide soldiers with armor that fits like a shirt, Obusek said.

Ultra-light, super-buggies Survivable
■ Thousands of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are traveling in a Humvee. The roadside bomb-year effort led by heavily armed soldiers. The Ministry of Defence has spent billions of dollars on high viability mine resistant ambush protected, or MRAP trucks. But the weight of the armored car unsustainable created problems, reducing mobility and limited driving off the road.

He was asked to produce a lighter, off-road version of the MRAP, called M-ATV. These were also transported to the battlefield. However, the MRAP All Terrain is too heavy for the types of military strategists believe that will occur in the next decade. Chances are there will be low intensity conflicts, in small units will operate in secret and ask that they move in and out of an area quickly. For these scenarios, the troops need a versatile vehicle with off-road mobility and speed.

Marines and Special Forces, as vehicles that are fast, agile and able to pass through the narrow streets.

Short-term services are trying to improve the Humvee explosion protection with the improvement. In the long term, further development of alternative truck bombs designed to support maintaining the maneuverability of the original vehicle. The so-called Joint light tactical vehicle, or JLTV, its budget has been reduced and may soon end.

But there remains the need for a truck, said Lt.. Gen. John Mulholland, commander of the Special Operations Command of the U.S. Army.

"As we leave Iraq, it will still be necessary for the operation of the mobility of vehicles specially designed light we suspect that there will be different evolutionary models JLTV," said the ideal vehicle would combine the functionality of Commerce ATV with the ability survivability of armored military.

"We will fight for FindThatBand solution," said

For operators and special light infantry units, the truck of the future wants to be mobile, air transportable and can accommodate high-tech sensors and communication systems.

"When it comes to cars, it's good to buy a vehicle that fits the plan, but do not do what the team needs," said the lieutenant. Donald C. January Wurster, commander of a Special Operations Command Air Force. "If you buy a car that the team needs, has to go on the plane."

Mini-manned
■ The U.S. Navy has more sophisticated nuclear submarines in the world, which can remain submerged for months undetected. But they are expensive, with a price of about $ 2 billion, and their number is limited. Experts predict that 10 Naval unmanned mini-submarines could someday million occupy similar positions this great boat attacks today. In a future war, the Navy could deploy dozens of scouts These submarines and gather information on the enemy quickly, without having to worry about the crew was sending a danger to the submarine.

Extensions unmanned systems underwater submarine could become expensive, especially in coastal waters. The Navy has for decades sought to develop unmanned underwater vehicles equipped with sensors, which would help attack submarines powerful safely access areas that would otherwise be out of reach, as superficial or very mined areas and areas with difficult acoustic conditions. But the head of the Navy expects improved robots that can operate independently.

"I think that unmanned systems will play an increasingly critical and crucial in the coming years, especially in contested environments," said Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead form.

The Navy operates oceanographic systems and unmanned gliders ice development for underwater combat missions mining operations and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The authorities envisage a future in which networks of small submarine drones working with large vessels with crew to perform these tasks.

Marina develop four classes of unmanned vehicles, ranging from 3 inches to 9 inches in diameter, portable 36-inch diameter or a large ship called the passage of a submarine drone large.

Besides the places and things remove mines, unmanned underwater systems, could taste the water after a disaster in which contaminants are a concern. May be useful for investigating the underwater environment during the quarter depth or debris after an earthquake: information.

Technology is advancing rapidly, but more work is needed. Roughead said he would like to see a ship without a crew to work for 70 days.

Investigators say the tent poles are long sea journey reliability and energy independence. Current batteries do not last long enough, and vehicles still require significant human intervention to keep focused. With the exception of the gliders oceanographic systems, some are now able to operate in the sea for more than a couple of days. Several companies are working on independent air battery propulsion motors and high strength. Experts predict that innovations reach the end of this decade.

Boats bulletproof connection
■ In the case of open ocean war, nothing rivals the capabilities of the U.S. Navy. It has aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and guided missile warships on the coast again. He too expensive for small boats and river patrol boats for operations in inland waters and rivers. But future conflicts may require clandestine boats fast and agile, they can move near the coast and access to inland ports. This would require solid armored vessels, this can happen in hazardous themeselves and defend against attacks.

The Navy operates a small fleet of 34-foot coastal patrol. Sailors to defend ships moored in deep water and ensure the safety of airlines during its voyage to the port. However, the boats have difficulty when weather and rough seas to become high.

There are plans to build a 62-foot boat, called force protection, coastal or FP-C, which replaces the 34-foot coastal patrol. Carried a crew of five to seven sailors and have a range between 500 and 600 nautical miles. Would benefit from the availability ballistic and cruise of 25 knots and a top speed of 35 knots and a range of more than 24 hours. There are at least two or three cars, with a station can be controlled remotely.

"Our enemies are watching and learning, and attack again. We owe it to our Sailors, Marines, Coast Guard have the best protection possible," said Capt. Paul McElroy, commander of Navy Expeditionary Security 1.2 of Marine Expeditionary Force maritime safety under the command of the Navy Expeditionary Combat. "Ideally, we would like the boats are shallow, but maintain greater stability in heavy seas over," McElroy said.

McElroy warns that coastal patrol vessels in the future should be easy to maintain and repair.

Finding the right materials to build these ships is a concern. Since the vessels are usually aluminum welding problems and require maintenance deposits for most repairs, ship designers are looking for other options. Manufacturers are experimenting with advanced composite boats making lighter and stronger. A lightweight propulsion systems could offset the extra weight of the armor. Advanced thin jets of water provides increased performance and efficiency and long life.

Anytime, Anywhere Communications
■ Mobile Broadband is a soldier of the Holy Grail. The soldiers want to communicate the availability of, and exploit the capabilities of new smartphones. FM Radio does not work anymore. The troops want Sami technology that powers the commercial networks for high speed mobile so you can send images, videos and track the location of your unit. But there are still some obstacles in the realization of this vision. The first is the lack of bandwidth for deployed troops. The army has tried troops 3G broadband deployment can quickly set up a temporary shelter or in a military vehicle. The combination of the cellular base station and a knit stitch welded expensive could provide megabits per second data rate in moving vehicles. Army as soon as possible, to fill the band gap This gap exists today in combat zones. The contrast between the connectivity that soldiers are accustomed to at home and what we are given is unacceptable during deployment, support commanders.

Experts predict that global deployment of 4G networks over the next decade, the military will not only benefit from more reliable networks, but will be expensive to use this smart radio can jump and enjoy the frequency spectrum used.

Computer security is a major concern that has hindered the adoption of smartphones, while the National Security Agency is always looking for new ways to protect data and devices.

The military has long been expected that smartphones have an important role in the fight, but it is unclear how the iPhone and Androids could eventually supplement or replace the current network architecture combat radio voice.

In future conflicts, the Army officials predict soldiers ball control made easy - not normally have access to the same level of media companies - are the smartphones and tablets that connect to networks brigade level. In his army, the soldiers would give him the ability to "reach-back" to access critical intelligence battlefield.

Tactical commanders Red state-of-the-art on the floor would be a great advantage over an opponent, said the Army Chief Information forms, retired Army lieutenant. January Jeffrey Sorenson. Unlike when a division and brigade level managers need access to the latest information, the soldiers already built must have accurate information at all times. The lack of information is what creates the fog of war, which leads to bad decisions "as bombs against innocent civilians.

"If you have the wrong information ... the consequences become front page news," said Sorenson A modern network tactical commanders would -. Four Star General platoon commanders - to monitor the position of their troops and the enemy's position.

Sorenson draws a parallel between combat advantage provides the information necessary for night vision technology. Mantra Year army was there to "Own the Night", said progress night vision sensor is paid to the U.S. Army, and Sami takes this competitive advantage in the information and communication side.

E Robot 'think for themselves
■ unmanned aerial surveillance provided troops launch and availability of precision-guided bombs. UGV prove to be too expensive, especially in the fight against improvised explosive devices.

One thing airflow, sea and ground robotic systems have in common is that there is a man who has the remote. In the next war, military leaders want themeselves drones can operate.
To advance the technology, the machines away from the current model of tele-operated and ask to make decisions "for themselves.

"The next challenge is to build fully autonomous systems that can interact with humans in a very social - of the conversation," said Zachary Lemnios, assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering.

The industry must now focus on systems that can be moved without soldiers, airmen or order for shipping, so they can be free to perform other tasks.

Autonomy is a fundamental need in all areas of robotics systems work - land, sea and air, Lemnios said. E Robot 'empty homes plans move in predictable areas. But changes in the battlefield, from moment to moment. The human brain can only operate in dynamic environments, rebuild roads, predict where they should go and live each day in an adaptive manner, he said. The robot should be able to do the same and are separated from their human masters.

"Having this system works in the presence of a change in the presence of uncertainty, complexity is the big challenge of the day," said Lemnios.

Another reason to do this step robot has a lot to do with fiscal reality, said the senior official who distributed technologies.

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