The True Land Warrior

Overview:

Description:

Subsystems include:

• Integrated Helmet Assembly
• Modular Weapon System
• Computer/Radio
• Software
• Protective Clothing and Individual Equipment

Many people think the Army's Land Warrior system is only a 'gee whiz' computerized system, but it actually consists of everything on a soldier from his boots to his helmet to weapons and body armor in between.

"The electronic components are a major part of Land Warrior, but still only a part of the overall system," said Col. Bruce Jette, Project Manager, Soldier Systems for the Soldier Biological and Chemical Command at Fort Belvoir, Va.

The Land Warrior computerized package will get its toughest evaluation yet in the Joint Contingency Forces Advanced Warfighting Experiment Sept. 8-20 at Fort Polk, La. Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, N.C., will be wearing and using Land Warrior in a night parachute assault jump, a night assault on an urban area, a nighttime live-fire attack on an urban facility and a night live-fire ambush.

In addition to platoon riflemen, medics and forward observers, selected soldiers in C Company headquarters, a mortar section, fire support and sapper personnel will also wear Land Warrior version 0.6 during the AWE.

Land Warrior is a program to increase survivability and lethality of soldiers in close combat. Equipped soldiers will have instant communications over full duplex radios with their leaders and between themselves. They will use digital maps to know where they and squad-mates are, as well as where objectives and assembly areas are. They can also relay digital video and thermal pictures during reconnaissance to improve speed and quality of decisions made just before assaults.

Land Warrior Version 0.6 uses a very small, integrated navigation and global positioning system. Thermal and daylight video sights are mounted on an M-4 rifle. The thermal sight can also be mounted on the M-249 squad automatic weapon and M-240B machine gun, as the mission requires.

Tough battlefield scenarios from JRTC will help the Army evaluate the system's ability to provide essential situational awareness to soldiers so they can carry out their small-unit tasks more efficiently. The AWE will also examine the system's ability to link with the Army's Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below Command and Control digital system.

A new assault helmet and improved body armor are also part of Version 0.6. The helmet can stop direct hits from 9mm and the plated body armor can stop 7.62mm rounds.

"What we've done for an infantryman in the assault helmet is cut back any part of the helmet that blocks his peripheral vision," said Col. Henry Kinnison, former Training and Doctrine Command system manager, Soldier at Fort Benning, Ga.

Kinnison said the new helmet is slightly lighter than the current helmet with better suspension to cushion blows to the head. The shape of the helmet was changed to keep it from rubbing against body armor when soldiers are firing in the prone position.

Version 0.6 is a designation that program and systems managers have given to the latest Land Warrior being examined in the AWE. Insights gained there will help further refine Version 1.0, the formal development system.

"Several parts of the system have already been improved by two or three generations over Version 0.6," Jette said. "However, they cannot be produced in enough copies for the soldiers to use in the AWE. We had to 'freeze' the system at some point so they could begin training."

Version 1.0 will be the complete system that will be used in platoon operational tests scheduled from August 2001 to February 2002. Upgrades arising from platoon level operations will be included in an operational test with a rifle company and selected elements of a rifle battalion from March-December 2002. Further tests may follow.

The Army expects a first-unit-equipped capability by an infantry regiment or brigade by 2004.

The current Land Warrior version is a far cry from the electronics package that received a failing grade in a General Accounting Office report released last December. The GAO report received a good deal of news media attention.

Among Land Warrior drawbacks cited by the GAO were the overall weight of the system, and the flat, hard plastic computer-radio backpack, which caused soldiers to "turtle up" when they were on their backs. In addition, cables that led to the helmet-mounted monocular eyepiece and the hands-free radio microphone were too rigid and leaked in water. GAO estimated the cost for that system was around $30,000 apiece.

"We realized we had an unacceptable system at that time, and that it would have to be considerably improved to make it acceptable to soldiers," Jette said.

Prototype costs are always higher because individual parts are essentially hand-made, according to Jette. Mass production will drive that cost down, he said.

"We have walked from that $30,000-plus series to a system that is a fraction of that," Kinnison said.

Kinnison also pointed out the new cost includes body armor, helmets and other pieces of the solider kit.

Solutions to improving Land Warrior were found in various industries. An example is the way the automobile industry protects car computers and makes leakproof, flexible cables.

"Today's cars are heavily computerized, and the computers and chips have to keep operating through all kinds of driving conditions," Kinnison said.

The Land Warrior computer nests inside silicon gel in a sealed metal pack about four inches wide, one and a half inches thick and eight inches long. Kinnison said the gel serves as a shock absorber and a coolant.

There are actually two very small, rugged computers with Pentium systems. One runs Windows 2000 specially adapted to ease soldier use. The other is a bus that manages the total system.

"When the system is not in use the bus is in a 'sleep' or standby mode," Jette said. "In sleep mode the bus uses negligible energy. But when a soldier needs to activate the system, the bus powers up almost instantly and brings Windows 2000 up. Without the bus, Windows 2000 would have to be rebooted just like a desktop computer, which takes too long in combat situations."

Battery technology has also advanced tremendously over those the GAO criticized for being too heavy and bulky with a limited operating life. The Version 0.6 battery is a 2.4-pound, lithium-pouch-cell battery that will provide reliable power for at least 12 mission hours.

The Version 1.0 battery will weigh 1.6 pounds.

"You can shoot it; it continues to operate," Kinnison said. "It's not hazardous waste so you can throw it away when you're finished using it. It fits into an ammo pouch. There is also a rechargeable battery for training."

Land Warrior incorporated three different systems that used to require different batteries. The Version 0.6 computer manages the power output of a single battery so subsystems get the proper power.

Battery technology has evolved to the point that Jette envisions a power source that will drive not only the Land Warrior system, but will cool and heat a soldier.

Advanced Land Warrior versions may have environmental controls to help cool soldiers wearing a new battle dress uniform that also doubles as protection against chemical and biological agents. They'll still need protective gloves, masks and uniform hoods, but overall weight will be much less than mission oriented protective posture (MOPP) suits.

Lightening a soldier's load has been a long-time Army goal, according to Jette, who began by finding out what today's typical rifleman carries.

"I asked the TSM Soldier to weigh a soldier without a stitch of clothes on, and then to put everything on him that he might carry in the field, from his socks and underwear to a full field pack, to include his chemical equipment, weapon and ammunition, and weigh him again," Jette said.

The soldier was 92.6 pounds heavier.

The Land Warrior system replaced seven items in a conventional field pack with 11 new or integrated pieces of equipment. That lowered weight by a modest half pound, but tremendously increased a soldier's capability.

"With foreseeable technology and combat requirements I think I can reduce the weight by several more pounds," Jette said.

Weight has always been a variable depending on mission and individual soldier requirements, according to Kinnison.

"You task organize," he said. "If First Platoon is the breach platoon, they've got to carry explosives and mechanical breach equipment. Second Platoon may be carrying additional rounds for 60mm mortars."

The Modular Load Equipment (MOLLE), jointly developed by the Army and Marine Corps, makes it easier to carry the 20-40 pounds soldiers and Marines carry in their packs. The Amy plans more improvements to make the MOLLE even more comfortable whether it's loaded with field gear or reconfigured for lighter, mission-specific packs.

Water is weight that can't be replaced, but several innovations in the Land Warrior effort make it easier to carry, according to Kinnison. A flat canteen fits under the MOLLE and another can fit into one of the MOLLE packs and has a drinking tube a soldier reaches by turning his head. Additionally, one-quart canteens are made of durable, soft material that won't jab a soldier when he rolls over.

Land Warrior Version 0.6 has the tremendous potential Kinnison saw years earlier with one of the original clunky versions.

A platoon of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., had finished an early experimental training period with Land Warrior. A general asked for their candid opinions of the system.

A young soldier told the general that he hadn't been in the platoon very long, but for the first time he knew what was going on most of the time and felt like he was a better soldier for it. He credited Land Warrior communications with keeping him in the loop.

"It was at that point that the light turned on for me," Kinnison said. "There are things that soldiers can do without prompting if they understood the situation. If they just knew a little more about the situation they'd make their unit better. They don't need to know what the colonel is thinking, but they do need to know what the platoon and particularly the squad is thinking."