Online Sponsor: April 01, 2003
Though Hurdles Remain for Land Warrior, By BRADLEY PENISTON, DEFENSE NEWS MEDIA GROUP
The planned March 2003 start of Initial Operational Test and Evaluation has slipped, but parts of its development are proceeding so quickly that Block II features may be incorporated into Block I, the first production units, said Army Col. Gordon Mereness, who commands the 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. At its heart, Land Warrior — with its helmet-mounted head-up display, body-mounted computer, and other futuristic systems — is an attempt to tie the dismounted infantryman into the Army’s ever-expanding digital network, Mereness told defense and defense industry representatives April 1 at Defense News Media Group’s conference: Strike Warfare Precision Attack: Compressing the ‘Flash-to-Bang’ Cycle. Among other goals, the new equipment is intended to allow the foot soldier to call in precision strikes much more quickly. “Right now, we’re not a full-fledged player in this arena,” Mereness said. “In the future, we need to be one.” Mereness said the Army was having more trouble than anticipated making the various systems “soldier-proof”; that is, tough enough to survive real-world use. Keeping electricity flowing to the battery-powered electronic gear is another problem; current batteries are too short-lived or too bulky, he said. Finally, establishing wireless links from an infantryman in the field to the Army’s various networks remains a challenge. Given the power and weight limitations, it has proven difficult to provide even better voice communications, let alone establish encrypted paths to send and receive data. But Mereness said that even as certain hurdles remain, others are being vaulted. Some of the elements of the planned Block II version of the Land Warrior system will likely be included in the first Block I equipment when it is fielded. Return to news coverage |
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