Future Soldier
Encyclopedia
Future Soldier is the overall name given to a multi-nation military project by the United States
and its allies launched in the late 1990s. A Future Soldier is also a Soldier who has enlisted in the United States Military, but is delayed in shipping (previously known as "DEP" or Delayed Entry Program
). Future Soldier is also name of the major international military exhibition for NATO and Partnership for Peace members.
will be achieved by equipping the average ground-based combat soldier with an integrated set of high-technology uniforms and equipment. These will be linked to an array of real-time and archived battlefield information resources. Soldiers will require not only enhanced versions of existing equipment (rifle
, pistol
, knife
, helmet
, armour, clothing
), but also new forms of equipment that will become possible as new types and combinations of technologies become viable for battlefield deployment.
Future Soldier Exhibition is an international exhibition mainly focused on the question of individual components of the "Dismounted Soldier" project, on the results of research, new technologies and materials, concepts and opportunities for international cooperation in the implementation of the integrated system of the soldier of the future and for the securing of the interoperability of its individual components in wartime and peacetime operations.
The last Future Soldier Exhibition took place in October 2010 in Prague
. The event is organized under the aegis of the National Armaments Director within the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic.
Vital to the success of the project will be the psychological and tactical preparation of ground combat soldiers for using their new capabilities. Various Futuristic Soldier programs are heavily funded and underway around the world, including
. Other more long-term goals relating to exoskeletons
, active camouflage
and cybernetic enhancements of individual soldiers is unlikely to be achieved for some decades to come due to the relative immaturity of such technology.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and its allies launched in the late 1990s. A Future Soldier is also a Soldier who has enlisted in the United States Military, but is delayed in shipping (previously known as "DEP" or Delayed Entry Program
Delayed Entry Program
The Delayed Entry Program, also called the Delayed Enlistment Program, is a program where individuals going into active duty in the United States Armed Forces enlist first into the DEP before they ship out to Basic Training, or "boot camp". This is not a legally binding contract, but an agreement...
). Future Soldier is also name of the major international military exhibition for NATO and Partnership for Peace members.
Set-Up
Superiority to enemy ground forcesGround Forces
The Hungarian Ground Forces are one of the branches of the Hungarian armed forces. It is the army which handles Ground activities and troops including artillery, tanks, APC's, IFV's and ground support...
will be achieved by equipping the average ground-based combat soldier with an integrated set of high-technology uniforms and equipment. These will be linked to an array of real-time and archived battlefield information resources. Soldiers will require not only enhanced versions of existing equipment (rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
, pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
, knife
Combat knife
A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.Since the end of trench warfare, most military combat knives have been secondarily designed for utility use in addition to their original role as close-quarter combat...
, helmet
Combat helmet
A combat helmet or battle helmet is a type of personal armor designed specifically to protect the head during combat. Helmets are among the oldest forms of personal protective equipment and are known to have been worn by the Akkadians/Sumerians in the 23rd century BC, Mycenaean Greeks since 17th...
, armour, clothing
Military uniform
Military uniforms comprises standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to extremely utilitarian...
), but also new forms of equipment that will become possible as new types and combinations of technologies become viable for battlefield deployment.
Future Soldier Exhibition is an international exhibition mainly focused on the question of individual components of the "Dismounted Soldier" project, on the results of research, new technologies and materials, concepts and opportunities for international cooperation in the implementation of the integrated system of the soldier of the future and for the securing of the interoperability of its individual components in wartime and peacetime operations.
The last Future Soldier Exhibition took place in October 2010 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. The event is organized under the aegis of the National Armaments Director within the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic.
Requirements for Success
- FIST (UK),
- Land 125Land 125LAND 125 Soldier Combat System refers collectively to various pieces of infantry equipment which is currently being planned and phased in by the Australian military...
(Australia) - COBRACobraCobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
COmbatente BRAsileiro (Brazil) - African Warrior (South Africa)
- Warrior 2020 (Finland),
- FélinFélinFÉLIN is the name for the French infantry combat system of the 2000s....
(France) - IdZIdZInfanterist der Zukunft is the German Bundeswehr's program as part of the Future Soldier project. It is a modular, integrated fighting system designed to provide significant lethality, survivability, mobility, battle command, and training to the German infantryman...
(Germany) - F-INSASF-INSASF-INSAS is India's program to equip the Infantry with state-of-the-art equipment. F-INSAS means Futuristic Infantry Soldier As a System.- The F-INSAS program :...
(India) - Soldato Futuro (Italy)
- Combatiente Futuro (COMFUT) (Spain)
- Soldier Modernisation Program (SMP) (Netherlands)
- NORMANSNormansThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
(Norway) - Soldado do Futuro (Portugal)
- Advanced Combat Man SystemAdvanced Combat Man SystemThe Singapore Armed Forces' Advanced Combat Man System is part of the SAF's move to integrate into 3G to progressively provide tactical units with network capabilities.-Key Components:...
(Singapore) - IMESS (Switzerland)
- MARKUS (Sweden)
- ANOG (Greece)
- BESTBEST-Film and television:* Best , a 2000 George Best biopic*The Best , a 2002 cooking programme on BBC2* Best: His Mother's Son, a 2009 made-for-TV drama about George Best's mother-Places:* Best, North Brabant, Netherlands...
(Belgium), - Projekt TYTANProjekt TYTANThe ISW Tytan is a Polish Future Soldier military project. The project started in 2006 and is currently in its first stage of development....
(Poland), - 21st Century soldier21st Century soldierThe "21st Century soldier" is Czech Future Soldier military project. The agreement of Czech Ministry of Defence and VOP-026 Šternberk about the future soldier program was signed in 2004.-Weapon system:...
(Czech rep.), - Integrated Soldier System ProjectIntegrated Soldier System ProjectThe Integrated Soldier System Project is Canada's program to equip dismounted soldiers with state-of-the-art equipment which will use a combination of commercial, off-the-shelf technologies and current-issue military gear...
(Canada), - Land WarriorLand WarriorLand Warrior is a United States Army program, cancelled in 2007, that was to use a combination of commercial, off-the-shelf technology and current-issue military gear and equipment designed to:* integrate small arms with high-tech equipment;...
(USA) - Individual Fighting System (Romania).
Success
Some of the early Future Soldier equipment was tested in the 2003 invasion of IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Other more long-term goals relating to exoskeletons
Powered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...
, active camouflage
Active camouflage
Active camouflage or adaptive camouflage, is a group of camouflage technologies which allow an object to blend into its surroundings by use of panels or coatings capable of altering their appearance, color, luminance and reflective properties...
and cybernetic enhancements of individual soldiers is unlikely to be achieved for some decades to come due to the relative immaturity of such technology.
See also
- Future Force WarriorFuture Force WarriorFuture Force Warrior is a United States military advanced technology demonstration project that is part of the Future Combat Systems project. The FFW project seeks to create a lightweight, fully integrated infantryman combat system. It is one technology demonstration project in a series of...
, the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Future Soldier program. - IdZIdZInfanterist der Zukunft is the German Bundeswehr's program as part of the Future Soldier project. It is a modular, integrated fighting system designed to provide significant lethality, survivability, mobility, battle command, and training to the German infantryman...
, the GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
BundeswehrBundeswehrThe Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
Future Soldier project. - IMESS, the Swiss Future Soldier program.
- FIST, the BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
analog to the Future Force Warrior program. - FélinFélinFÉLIN is the name for the French infantry combat system of the 2000s....
, the FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Future Soldier program. - Land 125Land 125LAND 125 Soldier Combat System refers collectively to various pieces of infantry equipment which is currently being planned and phased in by the Australian military...
, the AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Future Soldier program. - ComFut, Spanish Future Fighter Program (COMbatiente del FUTuro)
- 21st Century soldier21st Century soldierThe "21st Century soldier" is Czech Future Soldier military project. The agreement of Czech Ministry of Defence and VOP-026 Šternberk about the future soldier program was signed in 2004.-Weapon system:...
, the CzechCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
Future Soldier project. - F-INSAS, the IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Future soldier program. - Projekt TYTANProjekt TYTANThe ISW Tytan is a Polish Future Soldier military project. The project started in 2006 and is currently in its first stage of development....
, the PolishPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Future Soldier Program. - MARKUS, the SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Future Soldier Program. - ACMSAdvanced Combat Man SystemThe Singapore Armed Forces' Advanced Combat Man System is part of the SAF's move to integrate into 3G to progressively provide tactical units with network capabilities.-Key Components:...
, the SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an Future Soldier project. - MKFUMKII, the Malaysian Future Military project.
- V Operation, the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Self-Defense Forces Future Military program. - Tek-ER(Standart Private), the TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Future Soldier program. - ISSPIntegrated Soldier System ProjectThe Integrated Soldier System Project is Canada's program to equip dismounted soldiers with state-of-the-art equipment which will use a combination of commercial, off-the-shelf technologies and current-issue military gear...
, the CanadianCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Future Soldier program. - Soldato Futuro, the ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Future Soldier program