Delivering Capabilities for Multi-Domain Battle was the focus at the 2017 Association of the United States Army Institute of Land Warfare Global Force Symposium and Exposition held Mar. 13-15 in Huntsville, Alabama.
This year, the U.S. Army Materiel Command hosted the Army”s participation in the symposium. The supporting theme throughout the three-day conference –Science and Technology for Multi-Domain Battle Overmatch – highlighted operationalized readiness. Featured U.S. Army Research Laboratory presentations and exhibits focused on the science and technology that enables readiness, operations and the Army”s future force.
The annual symposium presents a unique opportunity for organizations across the Army S&T enterprise to showcase some of their most cutting-edge military research, systems, capabilities and technologies.
A number of presentations and displays were present to provide additional inspiration for future Army research projects and goals.
Throughout the symposium, attendees had a chance to actively engage Army scientists and engineers working on some of the nation”s most difficult scientific and technological challenges facing the Army, including research and development for the future Soldier. ARL”s Composite and Hybrid Materials Branch provided a presentation on Soldier Weapon Exoskeleton focused on research that ARL is developing to investigate increasing the lethality of the future dismounted Soldier.
A mechanical appendage called “Third Arm” was presented which can potentially reduce arm fatigue and improve marksmanship by steadying the Soldier”s weapons.
“The Third Arm” attaches to the Soldier”s tactical vest and can take the weight of up to a 20 pound weapon off the arms of the Soldier, potentially distributing recoil forces. This technology will increase the future Soldier”s lethality by allowing them to easily and steadily wield more powerful weapons by redistributing the weight and recoil of such weapons. Third Arm could allow our dismounted Soldiers to achieve overmatch against better-armored and more distant threats than we can currently successfully engage.