Future Soldier

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. Future Soldier is also name of the major international military exhibition for NATO and Partnership for Peace members.

Set-Up

Superiority to enemy ground forces 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 & combinations of technologies become viable for battlefield deployment such as exoskeletons, micro robot vehicles, surgery-enhanced vision, invisibility shrouds, and other such technology.

Future Soldier Exhibition is 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. Next Future Soldier Exhibition will take place from 16-18 October 2008 in Prague. The event is organised under the aegis of the National Armaments Director within the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic.

Requirements for Success

Vital to the success of the project will be the psychological and tactical preparation of ground combat soldiers for using their new capabilities. Various Future Soldier programs are heavily funded and underway around the world, including Land 125 (Australia), African Warrior (South Africa), Félin (France), IdZ (Germany), Soldato Futuro (Italy), Combatiente Futuro (Spain), Soldier Modernisation Program (SMP) (Netherlands), NORMANS (Norway), Soldado do Futuro (Portugal), Black Robes (Russia), Advanced Combat Man System (Singapore), IMESS (Switzerland), MARKUS (Sweden), ANOG (Israel), FIST (UK), BEST (Belgium), 21st Century soldier (Czech rep.) and Land Warrior (USA).

Rumors

An analogous program is claimed to be underway in Russia, and its name may translate as "Project Wolf" or simply "Soldier 2000." Reports of this are met with considerable skepticism, due to budgetary problems in the Russian military. Also Canada is considering.

Success

Some of the early Future Soldier equipment was tested in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Land Warrior is currently being assessed for possible deployment to Iraq in 2007. 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.

See also

• IdZ, the German Bundeswehr Future Soldier project.
• IMESS, the Swiss Future Soldier program.
• FIST, the British analog to the Future Force Warrior program.
• Félin, the French Future Soldier program.
• Land 125, the Australian Future Soldier program.
• 21st Century soldier, the Czech Future Soldier project.