The #2 spot in my series on our best war techs is a tie between blast-proof trucks and small aerial drones: two life-saving technologies that, despite their proven capabilities, have been neglected by Pentagon bureaucracies that prefer to grow their own super-expensive programs than to invest in existing systems that the troops know, love and want more of.
So-called Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected trucks and small flying robots like the Army's Raven can help troops evade and survive the roadside bombs that are the biggest killers of U.S. troops in Iraq. Despite this, the military brass has dragged its heels for years on buying more. Goes to show you: just because it works and the troops love it doesn't mean it's going to find favor at the Pentagon. Weapons buys have a nasty way of getting more political as they become more urgent.
Read the whole post at Ares.
