Future soldier technology (modified thread)

[jsport]

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2018/5/7/special-operations-iron-man-suit-prototype-delayed-a-year

This is part 1 of a 10-part series covering U.S. Special Operations Command’s Top 10 technology needs leading up to the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida, May 21-25, 2018. Today: The Iron Man Suit.

There perhaps has been no higher profile Special Operations Command technology development program over the past few years than the tactical assault light operator suit, or TALOS.

The idea sprung from former SOCOM Commander Adm. William McRaven in 2013. He wanted more protection for the first special operator to go through a door during raids. The suit would protect against bullets and blasts and have enough power for it to operate untethered. He set August 2018 as the deadline for the first working prototype and received $80 million for the first four years of development.

Meanwhile, the mainstream press picked up on the story after comparisons were made to the Iron Man superhero. Early SOCOM illustrations of the concept and a video it created with a fully-armored operator bursting through a door with bullets ricocheting off the armor certainly influenced the nickname, although officials have since downplayed the moniker.

Army Col. James Miller, director of joint acquisition task force (JATF) TALOS, told National Defense that there will not be a working prototype of the suit this year as hoped.

“TALOS is a unique engineering challenge that seeks to accelerate the development of emerging technologies across multiple domains simultaneously and integrate these disparate technologies into a fully functioning system that is intended to provide decisive advantage to future [special operations forces] in close combat,” he said in an email.

thank you for the update Bobbymike . have argued this is a Manhattan Project like undertaking so not surprised on the delay. Would n't be surprised if longer. Hope we are not duplicating what Japan has done on integrating a human dynamics and machines. .

 

[bobbymike]

https://breakingdefense.com/2018/05/commandos-buying-thousands-of-small-missiles-that-pack-a-bigger-punch-than-hellfires/

WASHINGTON: Small insurgent groups have long used speed and distance to try and outrun American precision-guided weapons launched from loitering drones and attack aircraft. But a new weapon being employed by U.S. special operators is trying to erase that tactic from their playbook.

A lightweight glide missile, smaller and more powerful than a Hellfire and fired from a C-130 gunship tens of thousands of feet above the battlefield, is about to start heading to the force by the thousands, according to SOCOM documents about an upcoming contract award.

SOCOM purchased several dozen Small Glide Munitions from Dynetics, a small firm in Huntsville in 2017. The SGM appears to have proven its value to commando leaders who are readying a contract for about 4,000 more of the 59-lb munition over the next four years.

The SGM can travel more than 20 miles and slam into targets moving up to 70 mph with its 36-lb. warhead, which is not only more powerful than a Hellfire, but clocks in at almost half the weight of the iconic 100-lb. munition.

 

[bobbymike]

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2018/5/24/socom-leadership-confident-of-delivering-talos-prototype-by-2019?utm_source=RC+Defense+Morning+Recon&utm_campaign=401c21b415-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_694f73a8dc-401c21b415-81812733

Tampa, Fla. — Despite recent reports that Special Operations Command missed the initial deadline to deliver a prototype for the high-profile tactical assault light operator suit, command leadership is confident that it will test a powered exoskeleton by summer 2019, officials said this week.

Five years ago, then-SOCOM Commander Adm. William McRaven set a five-year deadline to develop a working prototype for a suit that would offer greater protection to operators while providing greater mobility and speed in a lighter frame. It is intended for the first commando to enter a room during a raid. Operators kicking down doors are particularly vulnerable to small arms fire and bomb blasts. The death of a special operator in such a screnario inspired McRaven to start the program in 2013.

 

[bobbymike]

http://mil-embedded.com/news/arfl-mit-laboratories-are-testing-advanced-waveforms-in-high-frequencies/

TAMPA, Fla. — Special Operations Command is planning to release solicitations next year for machine guns that are expected to give warfighters expanded capability, a SOCOM official said May 24.

One is a lightweight medium machine gun that must provide commandos with a 2,000-meter engagement capability, be of comparable weight to the current M240B weapon and offer advanced barrel, suppressor and thermal mitigation technologies, said Lt. Col. Mark Owens, program manager for ammunition and weapons at program executive office SOF warrior.

“We’re not looking for the same barrel technology in this body of weapons that we have seen in the last 50 years of machine guns,” he said during a panel discussion at the National Defense Industrial Association’s annual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida. “We’re looking for a barrel that has higher endurance, higher operational ability, greater availability for sustained fires."

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/05/24/iron-man-ussocom-1-year-from-putting-operator-into-powered-exoskeleton/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_medium=social

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — For years, U.S. Special Operations Command has been working on a suit for special operators that would essentially provide power and resiliency beyond normal human capability and it appears the project is one year away from a major milestone.

“We knew going into this that it was going to be a real challenge,” Jim Smith, USSOCOM’s acquisition chief told an audience at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) May 22. “You put a world-class athlete into a powered exoskeleton, that is going to be a difficult challenge and we are realizing a lot of those challenges.”

But USSOCOM is making progress and Smith added, “right around this time next year, we will put an operator into a powered exoskeleton and lead the Department of Defense on learning what that really means for operations and what is in the art of the possible.”

The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, as USSOCOM formally calls it, is a complex system comprised of an intricate arrangement of state-of-the-art technologies that doesn’t look much different from the Iron Man suit found in comic books and movies.

 

[bobbymike]

https://breakingdefense.com/2018/05/smart-rifles-for-foot-soldiers-army-ngsw-prototype-contracts-out-in-june/

PENTAGON COURTYARD: The Army is just weeks away from awarding contracts to begin buying prototypes of new infantry weapons, with live-fire tests next year. After years of struggle to replace the Vietnam-era M16/M4 family, these prototypes are a big step towards giving squads precision-guided firepower, a key part of both the Army’s Big Six modernization plan and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s urgent effort to overhaul the infantry. (The Marines, by contrast, are buying off-the-shelf replacements for the M16).

“We’re planning on awarding in June. It’s very fast,” said Sergio Aponte, who works on the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) at the Army’s celebrated Picatinny Arsenal. He spoke to reporters at a science-fair-style event last week in the Pentagon courtyard. Sponsored by Mattis’s Close Combat Lethality Task Force, the displays were heavily attended by Army personnel like Brig. Gen. Chris Donahue, head of the Army’s handpicked Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team (CFT), who stopped by to sing the Picatinny team’s praises to reporters.

 

[fredymac]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueNjFzFpb_Q

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.army.mil/article/206384

WASHINGTON -- Army researchers in Massachusetts are developing technology that may soon yield a lightweight combat helmet that provides more protection than anything ever fielded.

Representatives of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, out of Natick, Massachusetts, had an array of combat helmets on display at the Pentagon, May 24 and 25, as part of a "Close Combat Lethality Tech Day."

Included among that protective gear was the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops, or PASGT helmet, first fielded in 1981; the Advanced Combat Helmet, first fielded in 2003; and the Light Weight-ACH, which first appeared in 2013.

All three of those helmets make use of para-aramid fibers to protect Soldiers, and each successive helmet weighed less than its predecessor. The LW-ACH, for instance, is more than a half-pound lighter than the PASGT helmet for a size large.

Newer helmets on display made use of a different material: ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, or UHMWPE.

The Advanced Combat Helmet Generation II, for example, weighs 22 percent less than the ACH and is designed to protect Soldiers from fragmentation as well as from rounds up to 9mm.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/06/13/this-new-camouflage-netting-could-protect-soldiers-better-than-armor/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com

Camo netting that blends in with woods, jungle or desert, that’s such 20th century thinking. The Army has recently awarded contracts to three companies to develop the next level in camo — hiding equipment from the sophisticated sensors that blanket the landscape.

Three Engineering Manufacturing Development, or EMD, contracts were issued for prototyping the new Ultra-Lightweight Camouflage Net System, or ULCANS, according to an Army release.

The next generation netting must be ultralightweight, all-weather and offer “state-of-the-art” signature management concealment system to provide “multispectral protection.”

 

[lastdingo]

https://www.army.mil/article/206384

WASHINGTON -- Army researchers in Massachusetts are developing technology that may soon yield a lightweight combat helmet that provides more protection than anything ever fielded.

Representatives of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, out of Natick, Massachusetts, had an array of combat helmets on display at the Pentagon, May 24 and 25, as part of a "Close Combat Lethality Tech Day."

Included among that protective gear was the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops, or PASGT helmet, first fielded in 1981; the Advanced Combat Helmet, first fielded in 2003; and the Light Weight-ACH, which first appeared in 2013.

All three of those helmets make use of para-aramid fibers to protect Soldiers, and each successive helmet weighed less than its predecessor. The LW-ACH, for instance, is more than a half-pound lighter than the PASGT helmet for a size large.

Newer helmets on display made use of a different material: ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, or UHMWPE.

The Advanced Combat Helmet Generation II, for example, weighs 22 percent less than the ACH and is designed to protect Soldiers from fragmentation as well as from rounds up to 9mm.

That's the classic bollocks.
Technology improves, and the bureaucracy uses this improvement in weight efficiency to add capability, instead of bringing down the weight.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.military.com/defensetech/2018/06/27/army-individual-soldiers-will-one-day-control-swarms-robots.html

Army robotics officials at Fort Benning, Georgia are trying to give individual soldiers the capability to control swarms of air and ground robotic systems for missions that often require large numbers of troops to accomplish.

U.S. ground forces have used small ground robots and unmanned aerial systems for years, but only on a small scale, said Don Sando, director Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate at Benning.

 

[bobbymike]

https://special-ops.org/news/technology/u-s-army-testing-hoverbikes-as-tactical-reconnaissance-vehicles/

The United States Military has effectively tested a “hoverbike” model equipped for conveying a load of up to 300 pounds. The U.S. Armed force and Marine Corps have collaborated with the U.K.- based innovation firm Mallory Aeronautics to make this science fiction aircraft a reality.

The Joint Tactical Aerial Resupply Vehicle was put through a progression of tests in U.S. Armed force Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland to figure out if or not this one of a kind aircraft has military applications. The architects and military authorities went to the general accord that a vehicle like the JTARV could be utilized to transport troops or supplies low to the ground or a huge number of feet noticeable all around at velocities of up to 60 miles for hour.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/07/19/the-army-is-one-step-closer-to-fielding-a-next-generation-weapon-sight-now-that-theyve-been-dropped-out-of-perfectly-good-airplanes/

A leap-ahead weapons sight under development by Army engineers is one step closer to fielding after having passed critical airdrop tests recently performed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division conducted static line jumps with the Family of Weapon Sights-Individual program devices on their carbines, machine guns and sniper rifles. The jumps helped soldiers give feedback on the size, weight and configuration of the new items.

Technicians then tested the sites to ensure they held their zero post-jump.

“American paratroopers are infamous for attacking when and where least expected and always at night,” said Mike Tracy, branch chief of the Personnel Special Operations Test Branch.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-23/army-selects-firms-design-next-high-tech-assault-rifle-decades-hybrid-wars

AAI Corp. and Textron have been developing some of the world’s most advanced assault rifles for a dozen or more years, in hopes to be the defense contractor that replaces the Army’s M249.

Now it seems Textron is not alone. According to the Prototype Opportunity Notice (PON) for NGSAR, the U.S. Army Contracting Command-New Jersey (ACC-NJ), on behalf of Project Manager Soldier Weapons, awarded six (6) separate Fixed Priced, Full and Open Competition (F&OC), Prototype OTA’s to:

AAI Corporation Textron Systems – Hunt Valley, MD; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1017

FN America LLC. – Columbia, SC; OTA’s W15QKN-18-9-1018 & W15QKN-18-9-1019

General Dynamics-OTS Inc. – Williston, VT; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1020

PCP Tactical, LLC – Vero Beach, FL; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1021

Sig Sauer Inc. – Newington, NH; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1022

“These Prototype OTA’s will be for the manufacture and development of a Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) system demonstrator representative of a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 6. The expected Prototype OTA duration is twelve months after award. The Prototype OTA’s were awarded on 25 June 2018,” stated the PON. Following each manufactures submission of their prototype weapons, there will be an open competition, where each gun manufacture hopes their weapon outperforms the rest and ultimately replaces the M249.

 

[jsport]

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-23/army-selects-firms-design-next-high-tech-assault-rifle-decades-hybrid-wars

AAI Corp. and Textron have been developing some of the world’s most advanced assault rifles for a dozen or more years, in hopes to be the defense contractor that replaces the Army’s M249.

Now it seems Textron is not alone. According to the Prototype Opportunity Notice (PON) for NGSAR, the U.S. Army Contracting Command-New Jersey (ACC-NJ), on behalf of Project Manager Soldier Weapons, awarded six (6) separate Fixed Priced, Full and Open Competition (F&OC), Prototype OTA’s to:

AAI Corporation Textron Systems – Hunt Valley, MD; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1017

FN America LLC. – Columbia, SC; OTA’s W15QKN-18-9-1018 & W15QKN-18-9-1019

General Dynamics-OTS Inc. – Williston, VT; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1020

PCP Tactical, LLC – Vero Beach, FL; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1021

Sig Sauer Inc. – Newington, NH; OTA W15QKN-18-9-1022

“These Prototype OTA’s will be for the manufacture and development of a Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) system demonstrator representative of a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 6. The expected Prototype OTA duration is twelve months after award. The Prototype OTA’s were awarded on 25 June 2018,” stated the PON. Following each manufactures submission of their prototype weapons, there will be an open competition, where each gun manufacture hopes their weapon outperforms the rest and ultimately replaces the M249.

Thank you for posting bobbymike. Very glade to see "separate Fixed Priced, Full and Open Competition (F&OC)" even though majors predominate and don't beleive CTA, Caseless dev has been necessarily F&OC.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/05/08/socom-snipers-will-ditch-their-bullets-for-this-new-round-next-year/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_medium=social

INDIANAPOLIS ― Top special operations snipers will replace their 7.62mm sniper rifles with a caliber that doubles their hit probability at 1,000 meters, increases their effective range by nearly half, reduces wind drift by a third and has less recoil.

What caliber is that, might you ask?

The 6.5mm Creedmoor.

Big Army has been at work on its own intermediate caliber rifle round as officials simultaneously develop the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle to replace the existing 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapon. That project is one piece of a larger effort to also build a next-generation carbine.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/08/04/inside-secdef-jim-mattis-25-billion-plan-make-infantry-deadlier.html

Retired Marine infantry officer Joe L'Etoile remembers when training money for his unit was so short "every man got four blanks; then we made butta-butta-bang noises" and "threw dirt clods for grenades."

Now, L'Etoile is director of the Defense Department's Close Combat Lethality Task Force and leading an effort to manage $2.5 billion worth of DoD investments into weapons, unmanned systems, body armor, training and promising new technology for a group that has typically ranked the lowest on the U.S. military's priority list: the grunts.

 

[seruriermarshal]

https://twitter.com/Archarithms

 

[bobbymike]

https://asc.army.mil/web/news-alt-jas18-collaborating-on-innovation/

The future Army must be ready to deploy, fight and win decisively against any adversary, anytime and anywhere, as well as to operate in a joint, multidomain, high-intensity conflict, while simultaneously deterring others and maintaining agility to conduct irregular warfare. While the Army has been at war, the world witnessed the value and impact that technology brings to the battlefield and how capabilities, enabled by such technology innovations, are critical to the success of our Soldiers.

Similarly, our adversaries studied the Army’s successes and challenges, then mimicked many of those successes and hence avoided many pitfalls in an attempt to bring themselves to near-peer status. However, they will not succeed in their efforts, because when it comes to creating and deploying cutting-edge technology, the keystone is research and development, empowered by the scientific workforce and how it views and solves problems.

 

[bobbymike]

https://defense-update.com/20180822_chameleon_camo.html

An adaptive camouflage developed in Russia could be used in the future to better blend vehicles and soldiers in the environment. Operating like a Chameleon, the new camouflage is able to mimic the color of the environment. Displayed at the annual Army 2018 forum near Moscow this week the new material was applied to a soldier’s helmet which is part of the advanced, third generation Ratnik infantry combat suite.

The electrically-induced material that covers the helmet prototype is able to change color depending on the color of its surrounding environment. The material can display dynamic changes of color intensity and simulate complex images, for example, the motion of leaves in the wind. The new material was developed by Ruselectronics and TSNIITOCHMASH, the Central Research Institute for Precision Machine Building, both operating within the Rostec conglomerate.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/08/23/after-canceling-the-xm25-the-army-looks-to-other-options-for-battling-concealed-enemies/

Instead of pursuing the XM25 air-bursting grenade launcher, the Army will substitute air-bursting 40mm rounds for firing over obstacles and the much larger 84mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle when troops need to blow through a barrier.

The XM25 program was officially canceled in July, ending a public limbo for the program that came into question back in 2016 for failures in field testing and costly developments. The program development began in 2000 and field testing started in 2010.

The launcher nicknamed “The Punisher” malfunctioned at least three times, in separate instances in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

A 2016 report by the Department of Defense Inspector General noted those problems, along with issues raised by Army Rangers about the weapon’s 14-pound weight and limited five-round capacity.

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/18/09/21/1947229/magic-leap-is-pushing-to-land-a-contract-with-us-army-to-build-ar-devices-for-soldiers-to-use-on-combat-missions-documents-reveal
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-21/magic-leap-is-bidding-on-an-army-combat-contract

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.army.mil/article/211492/new_army_technology_guides_soldiers_in_complete_darkness

ADELPHI, Md. -- Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory developed a new type of thermal imaging camera that allows Soldiers to see hidden objects that were previously undetectable.

Dr. Kristan Gurton, an experimental physicist in the Computational and Information Sciences Directorate, and Dr. Sean Hu, an electronics engineer in the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, are leading this effort for the laboratory.

According to Gurton, all objects that have a non-zero temperature emit thermal radiation in the infrared portion of the spectrum, and the "intensity" of that radiation is proportional to its temperature.

 

[fredymac]

The article focuses on using polarized light to enhance spatial definition on thermal images. It doesn't go into details whether this is as simple as adding a fixed polarizer like sunglasses or having to rotate the polarizer and then post processing to extract high frequency content.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/gearscout/2018/10/04/this-ribbon-gun-can-fire-5-rounds-at-nearly-4000-fps-in-one-shot/

The US Army has long shopped around for a replacement for its mainstay rifle -- the venerable M-16 and its smaller carbine variant, the M4. It could very well have found just that in the workshop of an inventor from Colorado Springs. Martin Grier, the founder and owner of Forward Defense Munitions, came up with the idea for the new rifle after years of research and significant financial investment.

Unofficially dubbed the "Ribbon Gun," it looks far more like something out of a science fiction movie than anything available on the commercial or military market today. In fact, the Ribbon Gun, commercially known as the L5, doesn't even function or operate like a conventional firearm.

The L5 does sport a pistol grip, a shoulder stock and even an optical sight... but that’s where the similarities to present-day firearms end. While guns today use a physically-activated firing mechanism to ignite the primer in a cartridge, sending the round hurtling forward out of its shell, the L5 uses electromagnetic actuators to fire its bullets.

 

[Grey Havoc]

A picture of the aforementioned L5 (in it's earlier 4 barrel version):

https://gazette.com/military/army-might-have-found-its-new-rifle-in-colorado-springs/article_96cd214c-c290-11e8-9d41-27b5a0e767a4.html

 

[fredymac]

Pairing UAV's and armored vehicles sounds useful but it might get messy without automatic networking so everyone is aware of who is doing what.

https://youtu.be/1FkSUmo4_u4

 

[bobbymike]

https://breakingdefense.com/2018/10/army-moves-25b-to-big-six-including-new-6-8mm-rifle/

UPDATED with Under Secretary McCarthy comment AUSA: The Army plans to move at least $25 billion over the next five years from low-priority programs to preparing for major war. That includes developing a wide variety of new weapons, many on show here at the Association of the US Army conference, from high-speed aircraft to replace today’s helicopters, to partially-robotic armored vehicles to replace the M2 Bradley, to a long-ranged 6.8 millimeter rifle to replace the venerable M16/M4 family and its controversial 5.56 mm round.

 

[fredymac]

"Molar Mic" microphone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHSJFRgRHcA

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.janes.com/article/83747/ausa-2018-sig-sauer-unveils-338-norma-magnum-chambered-mmg?utm_campaign=CL_%20Jane%27s%20360-Oct-12-2018_PC5308_e-production_E-18226_KP_1012_0600&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

SIG Sauer unveiled a new medium machine gun (MMG) chambered for the .338 Norma Magnum cartridge at this year's Association of the US Army symposium (AUSA), held in Washington, DC, from 8 to 10 October.

The weapon is thought to be a direct competitor to the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Lightweight Medium Machine Gun chambered for the same round.

The exact system of operation of the latest SIG Sauer MMG is unknown, but Jane's believes that it is probably gas cycled. Company representatives who spoke to Jane's at AUSA were unwilling to reveal any particular details regarding the weapon, claiming that its system is "unique and novel".

On display at the show next to the MMG was a new kind of .338 Norma Magnum (NM) ammunition. SIG Sauer representatives were again unwilling to disclose any particular details, although one executive did confirm to Jane's that the casings of the new .338 NM cartridge are made of polymer to reduce the overall weight of the round, with a 'steel head' at the base.

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/10/10/transparent-armor-may-soon-be-used-to-make-a-face-shield-for-soldiers/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+DFN&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com

A clear material known as “transparent armor” now used for an Army rocket launcher system could soon be protecting soldiers’ faces in combat.

The material, which can shatter a 7.62mm round on impact with an inch-thick panel, is used on the Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System now and will soon appear on the M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System, said Russ Wooddell, business development manager for Saint-Gobain, which makes the Sapphire transparent armor.

The strike face material is extremely hard, resists scratches and abrasion, and cuts weight and thickness by about 50 percent when compared to glass solutions that would be used for similar purposes, Wooddell told Army Times Wednesday at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting.

“It’s much easier to handle,” he said. “All other materials that will be around the window won’t scratch it. Even if you took a piece of sandpaper and rubbed it across the surface, it will not scratch.”

 

[bobbymike]

Super Soldiers Emerging Technologies - Center for a New American Security

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNAS_Super-Soldiers_5_Emerging-Technologies-FINAL.pdf?mtime=20180921152959

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/10/30/kinetica-codesigner-of-russian-udav-pistol-and-ratnik-3-rifle/

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-wins-479-million-army-contract-for-augmented-1830730198

Microsoft has secured a $479 million-plus contract with the U.S. Army for Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) prototypes, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, expanding its relationship with the military and beating out a slew of other companies competing for the contract.

According to the government proposal, the program is intended to “accelerate lethal defensive and offensive capabilities utilizing innovative components.” Bloomberg reported the contract could lead to the military buying more than 100,000 augmented reality headsets from Microsoft, positioning the military as a massive consumer of its HoloLens technology. Specifications provided by the military show the devices seem intended for use in active combat roles:

It expects devices to vary from their consumer-grade counterparts in a handful of key respects. In a document shared with companies bidding on the contract, the Army said it wanted to incorporate night vision and thermal sensing, measure vital signs like breathing and “readiness,” monitor for concussions and offer hearing protection. It said the winning bidder would be expected to deliver 2,500 headsets within two years, and exhibit the capacity for full-scale production.

Microsoft beat out Magic Leap and others for the contract.

 

[fredymac]

Mostly too premature for practical use but the BODN explosive sounds like it has potential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJyOeLMXr-E

 

[fredymac]

Bushmaster developments. PDF is about 1.4MBytes but I'm not sure what size limit is allowed.

 

[fredymac]

ARDEC projects.

 

[fredymac]

2 second clip of 50mm Bushmaster firing at the 2019 Bushmaster User Conference.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qzU5spTgaw

 

[Moose]

Pretty good RoF and stability on that test mount.

 

[fredymac]

More Bushmaster pron from 2019 user conference.

https://vimeo.com/330031827