Comments on: Land Warrior Still Needs Some Work

By: riste

riste — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:04:24 +0000

j like to work in military usa
j’m from Macedonia

By: Penta

Penta — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:10:01 +0000

Thusfar we’ve only heard from units with LW in Iraq — are they planning to deploy it to Afghanistan or elsewhere? I’m wondering how perceptions would change in another theater.

By: txzen

txzen — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:17:30 +0000

I started thinking about when you want the heavy stuff: Going door to door room to room and being able to stick your gun around the corner or through the window and keep your self behind cover and assess the room, throw a HG/flash shoot in without being exposed or walk to the next door/window and start the surveil and nuetralize all over again. You are with your team quick is good but running at full speed might be less of a concern since you are with your team and have a spot to cover. Then I thought about open space like deserts and moutains and again I would want the laser designator and the camera to pinpoint with laser range found gps coordinates for excalibur and jdams and if the 12x zoom if it actually makes all the m16’s out there like designated marksmen I would want that too. Then if you think about the guys who get to ride in trucks to their objective then weight is less of a concern again. The only time I might not want the “extras,” is patrolling the streets when I just react in street to street action and jump/run for cover when engaged.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:07:21 +0000

I’ll admit, I forgot about the rifle mounts. Those could go if they are not required, and should be optional to carry anyways, but the rest of the parts are the base infrastructure for the system. The government really needs to do more work with Lithium Ion and other new lighter battery technologies. Through my work in military tech, I’ve seen that there is alot of fear in the use of lithium ion because of the heat issue. A poorly designed battery can shoot fire through a hole pierced by a bullet. Not that you can’t get around that, but the military is stuck on old tech when it comes to batteries. We need to step it up.

By: TomBillings

TomBillings — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:04:02 +0000

I don’t develop the tech, and cannot participate in the military, but have observed both over decades.
On the various forums about Land Warrior I am seeing many objections that amount to, “Spend money on things *I* understand/remember/am used to, and don’t enrich *anyone* who might talk to a congressman.” Such views may be emotionally satisfying, but will kill more soldiers, as the years go by, and opponents gain our present level of military technology. The *only* people who are *allowed* to build any tech for the military are almost defined by the fact that they *do* talk to congressmen!
The technology of Land Warrior has advanced slower than commercial tech, because it is a government program, under a political hierarchy. 12–25 years is needed to field a fighter plane for the same reason. The political hierarchy is there to control, and far too often does that by squashing the productive networks that can produce new advantages. So, until you can wave a magic wand and have that hierarchy start acting like a network (like getting a dog to mew like a cat), let us have a more productive discussion than another bitch session about yet another technology that is victim of political controls.
As to the comments from field users, it has been noted that kinetic warfare that LW was built for has become rare in Iraq. Does *anyone* here believe that will be the case elsewhere as WW IV goes forwards? If the State Dept. were doing the sewer/electricity/garbage checks that the military is stuck with, as State should be able to, then the complaints about LW would apparently drop 10/1, because the military would not be dragging that 17 pounds through peaceful neighborhoods.
Even in kinetic warfare, it still has problems.
Being physical, it has mass, and weight, and few want a single pound more than must be on their backs, much less their necks. The weight is going to shrink as fast as the political hierarchy will allow engineers to experiment at doing it. As has been noted, a *lot* of that is batteries.
There are new Lithium Ion technologies that will put 10 times the energy in each ounce of battery, but they must be engineered into working batteries and those integrated into future LW systems. No one knows how fast the hierarchy will allow that to be done.
The rest of the changes will be related to moving and lightening the opto-electronics itself, while making it more rugged. While that will take time, it should shrink well. The doctrine and means to *train* people in using this tech also need much work.
Finally, the lack of use LW has had in current Iraq context simply screams for using the tech in other ways. If (if only!) the State Dept. *were* doing the infrastructure checks, they could use the tech to locate and immediately report the broken water mains, electricity outages/pirating, piles of garbage directly to the people in the garbage trucks, and the rest of the local governments that are beginning to operate in Iraq.
Of course, that would again require, a swift development to meet new needs, and breaking free of the political hierarchy’s control. So, I’ve broken my own suggestion above. Well, .. I’m not perfect. Hopefully, Ihave shed a small amount of light.
Regards,
Tom Billings

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:48:50 +0000

JH. Remove things that aren't needed? DUH? Not so much. There really isn't much to Land Warrior on the soldier. Its mainly a PDA, a Helmet Mounted Display system, and a Battery pack, maybe a small processor/control pack. The majority of the actual hardware in the kit is in the vehicle, which allows the Land Warrior kit on the soldier to connect into the vehicle systems, and probably charge batteries. There isn't much to take out, just stuff to lighten, like the battery. I would think the battery adds the most significant weight. It needs a bit more than a normal "Crackberry" battery, as its gotta be rugged, and probably lasts longer with what I expect is equipment more power hungry than normal PDAs. I'm not saying its great, I don't know much of what it does functionly, but the guys on the ground are asking for it.

By: stephen russell

stephen russell — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:38:13 +0000

Test this on the border?
Local law enforcement. LAPD SWAT Unit?
Radical.
Get those bugs out.
Do domestic field testing.
Send agents into Mexico for Land Warrior projects.
IE blow meth labs.\
ravage the drug trade.

By: slntax

slntax — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:50:06 +0000

what a another failed idea that came from a civilan or a colonel . that prob never spend a single outside the wire? millions on dollars wasted? let me guess did that bird turn into a star yet?

By: JH

JH — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:27:50 +0000

Basically make it LandWarrior-lite.

By: JH

JH — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:26:34 +0000

Take off a few things like the stuff the soldiers don’t like or use, and you save a few pounds. DUH!