Future soldiers: from big screen to the battlefield

Published: 27 February 2009

Stories relating to British soldier’s kit from Iraq and Afghanistan usually focus on shortages and inadequacies. We often hear about the lack of helicopters, or how dangerous Snatch Land Rovers are.

These stories are true but the twin operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have also led to some surprising advances as Treasury officials have finally faced up to public pressure and opened their purses. Belt-fed machine-guns are now in wide supply, and have even been augmented with the Grenade Machine Gun (GMG). The purchase of such a devastating item would have been unimaginable in the 1990s, when lightweight counter-insurgency forces became the order of the day.

The demands of Afghan warfare have considerably enhanced the Army’s arsenal, albeit at the expense of vital programs – a cutback that will be felt in the long term. The current round of acquisition is described as part of the ‘Soldier Modernisation’ but that term originally referred to an older program. Soldier Modernisation began in the mid-1990s when the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) began working on Future Infantry Soldier Technology (FIST) in response to similar measures in the US and other NATO countries.

DERA drew on Science Fiction films, such as Robocop (1987) and Aliens (1986) to determine what a future soldier would look like. As a result the latter film now looks eerily prescient. ‘Aliens’ anticipated the use of light body armour, which came into vogue due to the Clinton Administration’s pre-occupation with casualty avoidance. The combined assault rifle and grenade launcher in the film is replicated in the Underslung Grenade Launcher (UGL) attached to the SA80. The Marines in the film have Personal Role Radios (PRR), through which they receive commands in an integrated Command and Control (C2) system – what would now be termed a ‘netcentric’ unit. The army’s new Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) may now never come to fruition, having fallen to absurd budget cuts. However the addition of Bowman radios to test models allowed them to replicate the C2 function featured in the film, and they even looked rather like the APC in the film.

Concepts that seemed once far-fetched are coming to fruition. Remember the automatic machine-gun in the ‘Aliens’ Director’s Cut? Remote-controlled machine guns are used in Afghanistan by soldiers sheltering inside bases or vehicles, while unmanned aerial vehicles operate at semi-autonomously in the airspace above. The only technology enjoyed by the film’s Colonial Marines that is not replicated in the US or Britain is the use of helmet cameras. However even these are in use with the Czech and German armies in their respective s DERA Soldier Modernisation programs. The Slovakian army took the sci-fi theme particularly seriously, designing a laser-proof helmet visor – perhaps in anticipation of an extra-terrestrial invasion?

FIST will considerably enhance the performance of British soldiers. FIST-equipped soldiers will receive an improved sighting system, allowing them to shoot accurately around corners or from cover. Their uniforms will be linked to the FIST network, so that their position is constantly monitored. This is fed into a GPS system mounted on their helmet, allowing them to pinpoint their position as well as the locations of friendly and enemy troops any equipment or locations added by commanders. The helmet even includes a night vision visor.  When radio communications are interrupted by the lie of the land, FIST automatically re-routes the signal to another receiver or over-flying UAV to reduce radio downtime. This is particularly important in difficult terrain like Afghanistan.

FIST will make the British soldier’s task on the battlefield far easier, and it’s scheduled to be deployed in 2010. However it is expensive and the army is initially expecting to field only 29,000 sets, restricting their use to frontline troops. The one advantage to the length of the program is that it is now known that Soldier Modernisation works. The US Army started using Land Warrior in Iraq in 2007, and testify to its efficacy. The in-built GPS system has particularly improved troops’ efficiency on the ground. US soldiers with the system can navigate far more easily, particularly in urban operations at night. In counter-insurgency speed is often of the essence and far less time is lost due to navigational errors. Knowing the exact location of friendly forces in real-time also reduces the chance of friendly fire. When FIST finally ends its lengthy journey from the imaginations of film makers to the battlefield, it will prove invaluable. The only question now that the technology in the films is current rather than futuristic, will sci-fi blockbusters still be so good?



Glossary of terms

GMG  Grenade Machine Gun
DERA  Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
FIST Future Infantry Soldier Technology
UGL Underslung Grenade Launcher   
PRR Personal Role Radios
C2 Command and Control
FRES  Future Rapid Effects System
APC Armoured Personal Carrier