Just about every army in the world wants a new suite of soldier gear, to wire its infantrymen into the emerging battlefield network. The idea is to give the grunts a better sense of where their mates and their foes are -- and let the soldiers communicate more, in the process. In the U.S., the project is called Land Warrior. And it's not going particularly well; the Army has eliminated the program's funding for 2008, despite the fact that the outfits are on their way to Iraq for the first time. The creaky wearable computers and heavy battery loads are at least partially to blame.
Or maybe it was the outfit's name. Israel's Elbit Systems is rolling out its super soldier suit. They've dubbed it... the Dominator.
"Outfitted with the Dominator, each soldier can send and receive information in real time, view an up-to-the-minute common operational picture on personal displays, as well as live video from either external or on-body sensors and transmit images and positions back to the command post and colleagues," Elbit consultant Shuki Shihrur [another great name, I might add] tells Jane's. "The whole system weighs only several kilograms."
The Dominator's small computer ties into Elbit's command-and-control software, so the grunt can interface with "armored units, artillery and close air support" all at one, Gizmag notes. (Right now, that's not so easily done.)
Dominating soldiers also can send pictures and video back to HQ, according to Jane's -- either through an eyepiece on through a camera, mounted on the soldier's personal weapon. The two can also be tied together, to let Sabras shoot around corners. "The system incorporates a day/night camera, a laser rangefinder and is integrated with a personal
40 mm grenade launcher," too.
Defense Update has more details on this and lots and lots of other Israeli military systems.
