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The German army is fielding technologies to enhance its soldiers' lethality, situational awareness, survivability and operational capability. The new kit consists of an easily upgraded, modular system of body armor, integrated communications and night-vision equipment. Each squad member is fitted with a personal radio and a handheld digital assistant that can receive imagery and tactical data via a local wireless network. The new equipment already has been tested operationally in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Europe's armed forces are using virtual reality to develop and integrate new technologies. Consisting of several networked facilities operating as a single entity, this research and design capability allows defense firms and their customers to test how systems operate before funds are committed for acquisition and production. This virtual testing center uses sophisticated modeling and simulation functions to create operational and training methodologies.

The cost of linking legacy systems with new technologies entering service across Europe has caused a major international firm to shift its operational focus. Faced with shrinking defense budgets and nations locked into large multi-year procurement programs, the European Aeronautics Defence and Space Company (EADS), Paris, recently underwent an internal realignment. The company shifted away from being a platform and subsystem provider to becoming a primary systems integrator. This distinction is important because smaller budgets mean that European defense ministries can no longer afford to duplicate the efforts of other nations. Instead, they must leverage the expertise of multinational defense firms through shared integration programs.

Europe's armies and defense firms are working together to transform conventional ground forces into digitized, network-centric units. A major part of this effort seeks to connect legacy equipment to data and communications networks. The first of these advanced national brigades is scheduled to enter service by the end of the decade.

The home nation of the former Warsaw Pact is undergoing a multifaceted military revolution as it strives to provide significant contributions to Free World security. Shortly after leading the former Eastern bloc in joining NATO, Poland is facing multiple challenges to both modernize and transform its armed forces.

A recently developed individual navigation tool allows soldiers to know their precise location inside buildings or areas where global positioning satellite signals are jammed. By combining several technologies into a small, lightweight unit, the device would provide warfighters with a three-dimensional view of their position so they could retrace their path to exit an area. The equipment also could help civilian first responders such as fire, police and emergency personnel to find routes through damaged or smoke-filled buildings.

A family of advanced lightweight reconnaissance drones is enhancing the situational awareness of German army units in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Easily transported in ground vehicles, the aircraft feature an automated flight control and navigation system that does not require skilled pilots to operate and can be rapidly assembled. Designed for mobility and a minimal logistics trail, the aircraft can operate from forward areas without the need for a runway.

The most impressive new large guided missile destroyers (DDGs) of China's Peoples Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, are the showcases of new operations and responsibilities beyond traditional coastal roles. The ships' new sensors, missiles and combat systems are mainly of Russian and Western origin. However, China now is faced with the challenge of operating and maintaining these advanced systems to create a credible threat to foreign navies in Far Eastern waters. This blue-water fleet primarily comprises ships that have been operational for years, but other more advanced ships are being built and may be deployed as soon as next year.

Interoperability with allied forces is a priority for Australia's military, and a program underway will deliver a multiphase, $600 million renewal of the Australian Defence Force's tactical communications systems. The program initially will rely on a bridging capability largely based on existing infrastructure that will be supplemented and ultimately replaced over at least the next decade in a series of phased improvements.

The Finnish Software Radio Program is meeting the software-defined radio requirements of a nonaligned nation and offering insight into alternative approaches to the U.S. Joint Tactical Radio System. The program concentrates as much on equipping forces to fight in high-intensity conflict as it does on equipping them for smaller peacekeeping roles. Along with supporting allied forces' equipment, it aims to support interoperability for disaster relief activities, nongovernmental organizations, and aid and emergency services work.