Saturday, August 18, 2007

Future Military Uniforms


Kinney and an army of engineers and researchers at the center, which conducts research and development for all the military services, is committed to reducing the load being carried by service members — while making them safer and more formidable on the battlefield.

Their goal, he said, is to incorporate new, lighter-weight materials to reduce troop loads by almost half, to 50 pounds or less.

At the same time, Natick engineers are exploring advanced technologies that will give warfighters of the future capabilities once thought restricted to the fictitious Power Rangers, Terminator and Contra series characters.

Tomorrow's warfighters, Kinney said, will wear uniforms with built-in chemical- biological protection, embedded with electric wires and fiber optics that give sophisticated battlefield capabilities. Uniforms will be waterproof and flame- resistant, with built-in insect repellent, antibacterial agents that help stop open injuries from getting infected, and even antimicrobial agents that keep odor in check. New synthetic materials being explored will make the uniforms warmer in cold environments, cooler in hot ones, and lighter in weight and bulk.

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