Army unveils high-tech combat tools

Army unveils high-tech combat tools

	Published : Fri, 02 Feb 2007 19:39 By : Agencies Print this Story

OROGRANDE, N.M. (AFX) - The Army has unveiled parts of its high-tech Future Combat Systems in an exercise with soldiers at the Fort Bliss Orogrande test site.

The mock raid on a fictitious village Thursday morning was the first public glimpse of a series of camera mounted-robots, small unmanned planes, radios that can send text messages and other equipment that Army and defense officials say will make combat safer for U.S. personnel.

Sgt. 1st Class Rick Haddad, an Afghanistan war veteran who participated in the exercise, said the new equipment 'is going to make soldiers smarter.'

Haddad and about two dozen other soldiers were given the job of raiding and clearing several buildings in the fake village Thursday. As they charged toward different buildings, they sent in a camera-mounted robot, called a SUGV or small unmanned ground vehicle, to get view of what they were walking in to. In one building, the camera spied an enemy soldier. In another location, it caught an improvised explosive device with a trip wire.

The images were relayed in real time to field commanders who described to forward soldiers what was being sent. Images from the small unmanned aerial vehicle were also sent to the battlefield in real time.

Army commanders said in a real-life combat situation without this equipment, a U.S. soldier could have been injured or killed trying to gather the same information.

'You have got a visual without having to compromise yourself,' Haddad said of the camera shots.

In Haddad's eyes, the new tools could also help prevent deadly friendly fire incidents.

Following the exercise, soldiers said the new tools, which include computer software that tracks the movements of U.S. soldiers and the enemy, were invaluable.

Maj. Gen. Charles Cartwright told reporters that the Boeing-created system is an ever-evolving series of technologies that will be upgraded and changed based on what soldiers say they need and want.

Boeing officials have been developing the system for nearly four years and hope to start giving the Army some pieces of the project by next year. The entire system is expected to be in place by about 2014.

Early versions of the SUGV and the small UAV are already being used in Afghanistan and Iraq.