Some New Military Technology

There are some new military technologies to keep an eye on. Military.com and The Truth About Guns recently published articles on prototypes for the new squad automatic weapons. General Dynamics offering is a magazine fed, bull-pup weapon. Textron's offering is also magazine fed, but in a standard layout. Sig Sauer's SAW prototype is a magazine fed weapon. All of these are intended to shoot the new 6.8 mm polymer round that the Army intends to adopt.

    Military.com also reports that "Steiner eOptics recently unveiled a sleek new thermal weapons optic equipped with a red dot for close-quarter combat." It looks like a reflex sight, but with the thermal imaging. The article reports:

      It's designed to be most effective in engagements of up to 12 yards, Pride said, adding that several law enforcement agencies and some special operations unit have requested the technology.

      "So, when you punch into a room or something, rather than having night vision in a dark room, you have a full thermal camera," Pride said.

      "The good part about that is with night vision, you get into a dark room [and] you are constantly switching your head side to side trying to find out where everything is.

      "With a thermal mounted on your weapon you step into a room, you maintain your weapon as you swing around; if there is any heat in there, it's going to pop up really bright in your view and you have your red dot to engage."

    You are probably aware that the Army has been using a helmet with improved ballistic protection, capable of stopping even rifle rounds at 100 yards, using a polyethylene material instead of Kevlar. These Integrated Head Protection System (IHPS) helmets weight about 3 pounds, but have an optional applique that increases protection, but adding an additional 2 pounds of weight. But the Army has been testing a new design that offers the same protection as the first generation IHPS with applique, but at 40% less weight. These helmets are designed to work with the Army's new night vision goggle-binocular that uses thermal imaging technology.

    A Canadian company called Hyperstealth, has released video demonstrating its new passive Quantum Stealth "invisibility cloak" material. The material is described as being "as thin as paper, inexpensive, and requires no power source." The technology is based on lenticular lenses. "It even works for non-visible wavelengths from mid- and near-ultraviolet to the infrared."

    I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Marine Corps' latest warfighting technology: better-fitting maternity uniforms and nursing T-shirts.