Army Striving to Lighten Load for Combat Soldiers.

• Author: Kennedy, Harold

To fight the kinds of wars envisioned for the next few decades, the U.S. Army has to do a better job of lightening the load that its soldiers carry into battle, service leaders told defense industry representatives at a recent briefing in Reno, Nev.

Despite years of research and development, the Army's futuristic "land warrior" system of next-generation weapons and equipment is still too heavy to allow foot soldiers to maneuver safely under fire, several speakers said at the briefing, sponsored by the National Defense Industrial Association.

Land warrior is designed to increase the lethality of the individual soldier and to enable him to fight in the darkness, stay in constant communication with fellow squad members and commanders. It also allows them to send back and receive real-time intelligence data, such as photographs and enemy position coordinates. Components include:

* A weapon with a laser rangefinder and aiming light, digital compass, video camera, thermal sight and close-combat optics. The weapons currently used are modified M-4 carbines or M-16 rifles, but the Army plans eventually to switch to the objective individual combat weapon, which is still under development and can fire both 5.56 mm kinetic energy rounds and 20 mm air-bursting munitions.

* A modular, back-mounted unit with a computer, soldier and squad radios, global-positioning system and video receiver.

* A lightweight helmet with ballistic and laser eye protection, monocular computer display, day and night target sensor, adaptable chemical-biological mask.

* Modular body armor and clothing to protect against chemical or biological attack.

"The soldier today is a system; the soldier is a platform," said Brig. Gen. Philip M. Mattox, deputy for acquisition and readiness for the Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM), based in Natick, Mass. "He's got more stuff hanging off of him than a Swiss army knife."

The land warrior concept dates back to a 1991 study by the Army Science Board. Five years later, the service began testing prototypes at Fort Benning, Ga. Since then, contractors have spent more than $100 million on new prototypes, according to Col. Walter L. Holton, soldier systems manager at Fort Benning's Army Infantry Training Center.

Most Army officials agree that land warrior significantly increases the capability of individual soldiers. The main problem is weight, said Col. Bruce D. Jette, program manager for soldier systems, at Fort Belvoir, Va. Currently, the system weighs 92.6 pounds, he said.

"It's the same problem that Napoleon had," Mattox said. "How much can a single soldier carry?"

Disillusionment with the program grew to the...