Here’s the Army’s 24 programs in soldiers’ hands by 2023

Here’s the Army’s 24 programs in soldiers’ hands by 2023
Here’s the Army’s 24 programs in soldiers’ hands by 2023

The Army boasts that about two-thirds of its modernization priority programs will be in various stages of prototyping by fiscal 2023.

From ‘Frankengoggle’ To Battle-Ready: Army IVAS

From ‘Frankengoggle’ To Battle-Ready: Army IVAS
From ‘Frankengoggle’ To Battle-Ready: Army IVAS

The experimental targeting goggles field-tested last fall didn’t work in the rain. The ruggedized version to be tested this month will fix that flaw – and more, the Army says.

Soldiers, Coders Surprise Army Brass By Changing IVAS Goggles

Soldiers, Coders Surprise Army Brass By Changing IVAS Goggles
Soldiers, Coders Surprise Army Brass By Changing IVAS Goggles

Young grunts and Microsoft engineers are driving refinements to the new IVAS goggles that often surprise their superiors. Has the Army finally found a better way to develop weapons?

Army Issues Next-Gen Targeting Goggles

Army Issues Next-Gen Targeting Goggles
Army Issues Next-Gen Targeting Goggles

A week from today, the first combat unit will get new ENVG-B goggles, which combine binocular night vision with computer-assisted cross-hairs linked wirelessly to the rifle. It’s a test case for the Army’s new high-speed approach to modernization.

Textron Preps For Mass Production Of New Army Rifle

Textron Preps For Mass Production Of New Army Rifle
Textron Preps For Mass Production Of New Army Rifle

Textron is not just betting it will win the Next Generation Squad Weapons contract: It’s betting the Army will want to start buying in bulk ASAP. That’s not a bad bet.

Forget The Terminator: Robotics For Logistics 1st, Combat 2nd

Don’t think about the Terminator or Iron Man: Think about Sigourney Weaver’s power loader lifting crates in Aliens.

AI In Your Eye: Army Goggles Will ID Targets Automatically

Army soldiers are testing goggles with an image-recognition system that can automatically spot threats like tanks and warn the rest of the squad — or transmit the target data to a distant missile battery so they can take it out.

Army Issues Lighter Armor For Bigger Wars

Army Issues Lighter Armor For Bigger Wars
Army Issues Lighter Armor For Bigger Wars

After a generation of guerrilla warfare, the Army is issuing new, lighter body armor that can be tailored for a wider range of missions, from plainclothes advisor roles to high-intensity combat. It’s part of a new push to improve infantry equipment, from rifle calibers to targeting optics to augmented reality training, coming from the Secretary…

Grunts To Get High-Tech Targeting Goggles In 2019

Grunts To Get High-Tech Targeting Goggles In 2019
Grunts To Get High-Tech Targeting Goggles In 2019

This kind of effort to get fighter-jock technology to ordinary grunts — who do most of the fighting and dying — has enjoyed some high-profile attention in the last 12 months. The efforts cover everything from developing a new, more powerful longer-range rifle to buying off-the-shelf quadcopters, from adding VR training simulations to eliminating tedious safety lectures.

Smart Rifles For Foot Soldiers: Army NGSW Prototype Contracts Out In June

Smart Rifles For Foot Soldiers: Army NGSW Prototype Contracts Out In June
Smart Rifles For Foot Soldiers: Army NGSW Prototype Contracts Out In June

The Army is just weeks away from awarding contracts to begin buying prototypes of new infantry weapons, with live-fire tests next year.

HUD 3.0: Army To Test Augmented Reality For Infantry In 18 Months

What should the device show the soldier? “Where am I? Where are my buddies? And where is the enemy?” said Gen. Townsend. “Then other stuff could be optional.”

Guns, Drones, & Augmented Reality: Army Seeks Infantry Revolution

Guns, Drones, & Augmented Reality: Army Seeks Infantry Revolution
Guns, Drones, & Augmented Reality: Army Seeks Infantry Revolution

The catch, of course, is that the Army’s tried to field all these things before — and failed. Why would things go any better this time around? Brig. Gen. Christopher Donahue has an answer for that.