Wearable technology could change how special Operations Forces fight.

• Author: Harper, Jon

Special Operations Command is looking for cutting-edge, wearable technology to help its troops maintain the upper hand against future foes. From clothing to armor to sensors, officials are counting on industry, academia and military research labs to equip commandos from head to toe with the best gear.

After years of battling in the desert and mountain climates of the greater Middle East, U.S. commandos are turning their attention to other environments such as the Arctic and the jungle.

"We haven't been fighting in those areas," said Adam Fields, SOCOM's program manager for survival, support and equipment systems. "There are going to be different things that we need."

New cold weather uniforms must enable operators to tolerate temperatures 50 degrees below zero, he said. 'We want to reduce bulk as much as possible so the guys aren't simply surviving in the Arctic, but they're actually able to do their job."

The command is looking for heated gloves with similar qualities, he noted.

In the jungle, uniforms need to counteract heavy rainfall and high humidity, Fields said. "We want to be able to get the moisture off of the operator [and] we also don't want the uniforms to get soaked after five minutes."

Additionally, they must be durable in heavy brush, which can tear materials when troops are on the move, he noted.

Commando uniforms consist of multiple layers and a single company doesn't have to produce the entire outfit, Fields said during a briefing at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida, in May.

Oftentimes "the layers are all made by different manufacturers," he said. "We tie them all together with multiple contracts. If you have got a piece [of technology] that may apply to one layer, that's great."

SOCOM could hold an industry competition for new protective combat uniforms as early as fiscal year 2017, he said.

The Department of Defense is pursuing other advanced materials for special operators and conventional troops. It is partnering with the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Alliance--a consortium of universities, companies, nonprofits and research organizations across the country--and funding a new manufacturing innovation institute focused on revolutionary fibers and textiles. The institute will be headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"This is a pioneering field, combining fibers and yams with things like flexible integrated circuits, LEDs, solar cells, electronic sensors and other capabilities to create fabrics and cloths that can see, hear, sense, communicate, store...