Army redrafts roadmap for 'Land Warrior'.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

The Army's plan for turning soldiers into digital warriors is once again being rewritten, in the wake of disappointing field trials that showed that technology is improving, but is not yet ready for combat.

More than a decade ago, the Army conceived the Land Warrior as the first "integrated soldier fighting system." The program aimed to equip dismounted soldiers with information-age technologies.

The Land Warrior system consists of a computer, a radio, a customized rifle and a helmet-mounted display eyepiece--all of which are linked electronically. Soldiers can transmit voice, data and imagery to other soldiers and to commanders. The program essentially combines everything that the soldier wears or carries into a "system of systems."

The current version of Land Warrior had been intended for operational use in 2004. Although it has been much improved over earlier prototypes, the system was deemed "unreliable" and unlikely to survive the rigors of combat.

That version, called Land Warrior Initial Capability, originally was to be fielded to Army Rangers in fiscal year 2004.

The Army recently decided to shelve the LW-IC, however, in favor of a more advanced version of Land Warrior, called LW-Stryker Interoperable.

"Due to reliability issues raised during developmental testing from November 2002 through February 2003, it was determined that the LW-IC system would not be ready for the start of operational test training in April 2003," said an Army spokesman.

In March, the Army approved a new strategy for Land Warrior that focuses on improving the LW system so it can be fielded with the Stryker brigades. The technology in the new Stryker light armored vehicle will be compatible with the Land Warrior.

The LW-Stryker Interoperable system is scheduled for operational testing in fiscal year 2006. If Land Warrior survives those tests, the Army could buy as many as 48,000 systems by 2015. The estimated price for each Land Warrior set is $20,000. Since the program's inception in the mid-1990s, the Army has spent nearly $2 billion on LW research and development work.

The Army insists that Land Warrior is essential to its fixture, because it provides "enhanced tactical awareness." According to Lt. Col. Dave Gallup, LW program manager, "Every soldier on the battlefront will be seamlessly interconnected with his buddies as well as operation command and control structures."

Members of a Land Warrior squad, for example, can track each other's location without using voice radio or hand signals. Each soldier is equipped with a belt pack computer with global positioning system, a personal radio, special weapon-mounted sensors and a helmet-mounted display. Through the HMD, the soldier can view computer-generated maps with moving icons that show the location of the soldier and fellow troops. He can also receive and create written orders, and view imagery from his weapon-mounted sensors such as a forward-looking infrared or a daylight video sight. Captured imagery can be sent up the chain of command for analysis or can be used to pinpoint the location of hidden enemy forces.

Army Rangers tested the LW-IC at Hunter Airfield, Ga. Those tests were...