On the cutting edge of technology: with sustainability and survivability in mind, AMC's engineers and scientists focus on quickly getting the right technologies into the hands of Soldiers when they need it

Soldiers Magazine, Oct, 2004 by Tesia Williams

THE war on terrorism has changed the way Soldiers fight and how the Army protects them.

Recent advances in science and technology have helped save Soldiers' lives by providing them with improved means of detecting and destroying enemy weapons. At the same time, these new technologies have decreased the number of Soldiers needed to perform certain missions, freeing up more Soldiers to fight the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Research, Development and Engineering Command, a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., is responsible for many of these battlefield improvements.

With sustainability and survivability in mind, AMC's engineers and scientists focus on quickly getting the right technologies into the hands of Soldiers.

"We used to have a five- to 10-year outlook," said Jack Byers, chief of the Technology, Review and Communications Division in RDECOM's System-of-Systems Integration Office. "World events and the global war on terrorism brought our focus much closer--to get technology into the hands of Soldiers when they need it."

There was an increased urgency to arm and protect Soldiers when casualties began mounting due to small-arms fire and the Iraqis' burgeoning use of improvised explosive devices, Byers said.

Army facilities responded to the urgency in 60 days, with the production of an Armor Survivability Kit. Soldiers can quickly install the kit--which consists of ballistic glass, armored doors, windows and under plating--on their Humvees.

The requirement for 235 add-on armor kits was received in May 2003. A year later, the requirement increased to nearly 4,500. And by the end of June 2004, more than 6,600 armor door kits had been produced and shipped to Southwest Asia.

The kit weighs about 1,000 pounds and is helping to protect Soldiers on convoy operations in Afghanistan and Iraq from small-arms fire and fragmentation, Byers said.

Additionally, equipping Humvees with a device known as the Squad Automatic Weapon Pintle Mount Assembly allows Soldiers to be more secure on patrols than they were without the devices, officials said.

Soldiers can now mount machine guns on their vehicles to fend off attacks, said Todd Richman, project manager at the Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center's National Automotive Center.

Within five hours, the Mobile Parts Hospital team designed and manufactured two pintle assemblies that were mounted between the front and rear doors of the Humvee. Safety stops were also incorporated into the design to prevent "friendly fire" accidents, Richman said.

The squad automatic weapon kit consists of six parts, including the pintle, a tubular rectangular shaft and a swivel mechanism that allows a 180-degree turning radius. Soldiers can install the kit by simply drilling holes on both sides of the vehicle, Richman said.

About 20 requests for the mount assembly reach AMC officials monthly. And since the original request came in during the fall of 2003, the MPH program has made additional modifications to mount SAWs on a wider variety of military vehicles, including 5-ton and dump trucks.

The growing insurgency in Southwest Asia also sped up the development of the Interceptor Multiple Threat Body Armor. Interceptor's predecessor, the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops, commonly called the flak vest, has been widely used by troops since the 1970s. However, the new seven-pound armor is 40 percent lighter and provides more protection, due to the engineered ballistic system.

It includes an outer tactical vest and small-arms protective inserts, or SAPIs, which protect vital organs from small-arms fire. SAPI plates can be worn on the front and back of the vest for maximum protection without decreasing mobility. Further, the new armor increases protection while decreasing heat stress or causing fatigue.

The vest also includes webbing hangers that allow Soldiers to carry ammunition, water, and first-aid kits in pouches attached to the vest, eliminating the need for additional web gear, said Bob Kinney, director of the Individual Protection Directorate at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center in Natick, Mass.

"Based on feedback we've received from the field, the armor has saved many lives," Kinney said.

"Natick is continuing to work on improvements to the body armor, such as multiple-hit capability and reduction of weight" said Kinney.

Since the war on terrorism began, more than 100,000 vests have been sent to Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Southwest-Asia theater, he said.

Soldiers are also receiving headgear for protection against "worst-case handgun incidents," said Fred Chan, program manager for Special Operation Forces Warrior Protection.

The Modular Integrated Communications Helmet was under development for four years before it was fielded to the Special Operations Command in January 2001. A year later, the Army adopted the Advanced Combat Helmet, which is the MICH without the communications components.

It's a superior helmet with improved ballistic protection, comfort and fit, said Chan. It offers Soldiers better protection, without compromising their ability to see and hear what's going on around them.