By Jen DiMascio
Lighter, better body armor is one of the top 10 items on the Army’s wishlist of new technologies that will be produced after 2015.
In an undated memo discussing the outcome of a mid-October meeting, Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, the director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC), spelled out the technologies the service will need in the future.
The ARCIC is an organization that works within the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command that looks at the current and future needs of the service and the best way to knit them into the force.
First on the “warfighter’s top desired outcomes” list is wearable armor that is 25 percent lighter and two times as impenetrable to small arms fire than current body armor, according to Vane’s memo.
The basic Interceptor Body Armor vest with ceramic plates weighs about 17 pounds–down from more than 25. The service wants to push that weight down even further.
Other force protection items are near the top of the list. Those include protecting vehicle crews from improvised explosive devices and explosively formed penetrators without increasing the weight of the vehicle and protecting an area from rocket and mortar attacks, according to the memo.
Science and technology investments may also delve into the psychological. The Army seeks to better understand “the human aspects of warfighting” to make sure that technology helps people perform in battle.
The service is looking for “scalable weapon systems” that would let commanders take on the enemy in different ways.
And transportation is another concern. The Army wants to be able to move a brigade-sized unit through the air “over operational distances,” the memo said.
In terms of communications, the service wants technology that would provide continuous command and control and access to the global information grid. Another item on the list is to increase current encryption standards to harden existing networks.
Army brigades are trying not to consume as much in the future as they do now, cutting the flow by 30 percent.
Finally, new technology for a high-speed platform that could support sea-based logistics.
The Army did not respond to a request for comment about the memo, which was labeled For Official Use Only.
More near-term technology shortfalls were listed in an accompanying information paper dated Oct. 24.
According to that list, the Army needs, lightweight protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks; secured battle command on-the-move; long-range threat detection; mobile and fixed 360-degree protection; the ability to detect explosives from a distance; innovative energy sources and efficient power components and ways to improve teaming with manned and unmanned platforms. That list is expected to be updated in January.