>>>Already developed is a reinforced helmet built of kevlar-type material that integrates night-vision goggles, cameras, infra-red targeting, biological and chemical alarms, a Global Positioning System, an electronic method to distinguish between friends and foes, and of course radio communications.
But in the future, US infantrymen could be going into combat aboard a 250-kilo (550 pound) robotic "mule." Soldiers could travel up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour aboard this wheeled machine, also designed to follow them at a distance carrying heavy equipment when the soldiers travel on foot. The vehicle, equipped with a silent hybrid electric-fuel engine, will also serve as a power generator and water generator and purifier, and come equipped with a cannon or a white phosphorus smoke launcher. The top-line "mules" will even come with a mini-drone, a small pilotless plane that will enable soldiers to view their environment from the sky, De Gay said.<<< [John Robb's Radio Weblog]
I hope that they harden the suits against EMP pulses, as well as the RPV's, otherwise you are a sitting duck in a fancy suit. I also hope that the hemet can be opened up in some manner (unlike the motorcycle helmet they are displaying now) so that the soldiers can rely on their own hearing when entering/clearing structures.
10:25:10 AM
