Army Technologies

The U.S. Army's mobile signal brigade is moving at a faster pace with smaller, more capable hardware that can be deployed rapidly into a theater of operations. The increasing propensity for diverse missions set in foreign lands is impelling the requirement for comprehensive communications systems that can be established quickly in unfamiliar, or even hostile, settings.

The U.S. Army is on the verge of deploying technologies that will enhance and extend the scope of information-based warfare by linking all echelons together. These devices and systems are part of a larger effort to assure future warfighters battlefield superiority.

Weapons-of-mass-destruction civil support teams, organized and trained to respond to domestic terrorist threats, will employ a leading-edge technology package that enables members to communicate under extremely unpredictable conditions. The groups are part of the U.S. Army National Guard and currently are in place in 10 states with 17 additional teams scheduled to form later this fiscal year.

En route airborne personnel soon may be able to send and receive vital information about the changing state of an operational landscape. A U.S. Army program aims to empower these forces to work with their home command to replan their mission if necessary.

The battlefield is emerging as a conglomeration of information systems that talk to each other, create a total picture and deliver pieces of a complex puzzle into a comprehensive knowledge base for mission commanders. Operations can vary from conflict to peacekeeping to humanitarian aid, but the requirements are the same-acquire as much information about the situation as possible so the best decisions can be made.

In the electronic ecosystem that is the modern-day battlespace, the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command interweaves the biological community with an abiotic environment. This unique role that the command has played during the last decade is part of the evolution of fighting forces. Its contributions to the inner workings of oftentimes dangerous environments continues as part of the revolution in the way warfighters and commanders carry out their duties. This transformation is far from over.

The U.S. Defense Department is developing software that will allow commanders to quickly design, prepare for deployment, manage and monitor joint task force communications networks. Once connectivity is achieved, the platform-independent system will provide bandwidth management and information assurance capabilities.

The U.S. Army is modernizing the command and control infrastructure of its major facilities in the United States, Europe and Asia. Once complete, the new system will allow enhanced reach-back capabilities among front-line forces, sustaining bases, national and theater command assets.

The dominant agenda item in the U.S. Army is its ongoing transformation, and the dominant element in this transformation is the Army's information systems. Empowered by new electronics technologies, these systems and their capabilities are defining the service's configuration and missions.

The U.S. Army may soon use high-intensity acoustics to disperse crowds, confuse enemy troops and covertly communicate. These experimental devices project highly focused beams of sound that can relay a message audible only to the individual singled out to receive it or can serve as a nonlethal weapon to disorient an adversary.