Army scientists wrestle with uncertain future.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin
• Position: R & D SPECIAL REPORT - Cover story

* In the Army's latest operating concept, leaders said that the service faces an uncertain future with many unknown variables, from the enemy to the location of the battlefield. What will be needed to counter this threat is a slew of new cutting edge technologies to give soldiers an advantage--these include more powerful helicopters, tougher trucks, better communication devices, more efficient equipment to reduce soldier load and better cyber defenses.

The Army must begin preparing for this uncertain future now, said Paul D. Rogers, director of the Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center during an industry conference in August.

"We don't know who we're going to fight. We don't know where we're going to fight. We don't know under what conditions," he said. "What we have to realize is [it's] probably unknowable."

One program the center is working on is the "tactical truck of the future," which is being developed alongside the Office of Naval Research, he said.

"The goal is to take a look at our current fleet of ... medium and heavy tactical systems and really look at the 40 or 50 variants and ask ourselves and challenge ourselves, 'Can we simplify that class of vehicles to a much smaller class, a smaller set of different solutions. Can we make it modular? Can we give it the attributes that we need in order to give that differential advantage, that flexibility to our warfighters and our commanders on the ground?'" he asked.

The joint tactical truck system would have multiple variants, and there would be commonality and modularity throughout the fleet. It would also have enhanced survivability and crew protection.

TARDEC wants to begin building a prototype in 2019, with a potential program of record starting in the mid- to late-2020s, Rogers said.

JTTS will be fuel-efficient giving deployed forces a shorter logistical tail, he said.

"We're looking at possibly getting up to about 50 percent efficiency at the vehicle system level and that will cascade up to the formation level," he said. "I think it's possible based on the work we've seen in the commercial world and work we've seen in the Department of Energy."

Rogers said TARDEC has a strong relationship with the Department of Energy. "We're working with them to look at novel, breakthrough technologies that ... at the end of the day have fuel efficiency values. We're looking at everything from dissimilar materials to lubricants to other energy saving technologies," he...