U.S. Military Looks At The Future

Was stealth a game-changer? Here maintainers and crew chiefs prepare B-2 stealth bombers for Operation Odyssey Dawn on March 19, 2011. Senior Airman Kenny Holston / U.S. Air Force

US Military Brainstorms Future Game-Changers -- MSNBC

Have expensive stealth bombers and cheap roadside bombs changed the face of modern warfare? The question of what technologies count as "game-changers" dominated the first of several U.S. military workshops meant to identify the most disruptive science and technology.

Much of the NeXTech workshop in Washington, D.C., looked at tomorrow's science and technology that could change warfare in 2025 — robots, 3D printing, energy, human enhancement and smarter software. But the gathered scientists, industry leaders and military officers also disagreed about how to define a technology's impact as "game-changing," even as they tried to keep focused on the future.

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My Comment: A summary on what many are predicting will be future game-changers for the US military.

Spychips For Soldiers

U.S. Military Developing Spychips For Soldiers -- WND

Government wants 'health' benefits from nanosensors.

The U.S. military wants to plant nanosensors in soldiers to monitor health on future battlefields and immediately respond to needs, but a privacy expert warns the step is just one more down the road to computer chips for all.

“It’s never going to happen that the government at gunpoint says, ‘You’re going to have a tracking chip,’” said Katherine Albrecht, who with Liz McIntyre authored “Spychips,” a book that warns of the threat to privacy posed by Radio Frequency Identification.

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My Comment: It is easy to foresee that one day these chips will be in all of us.

Report: The U.S. Military Should Focus Growth On The Navy And Air Force

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta addresses U.S. and international troops on Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, Oct. 7, 2011. Panetta thanked the troops for their service. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey

Report: US Should Place Its Bets On Navy, Air Force -- DoD Buzz

And now, music to the ears of the light and navy blue services: The U.S. should take a strategic risk and put its chips on naval and air power in the 21st century, according to a new report by a top D.C. think-tank. It should make the the assumption that the Western Pacific and the Middle East, in that order, will be the two key regions of the future, which means ships and aircraft should get an edge over ground forces, the authors say.

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My Comment: To focus our resources on the Navy and Air Force implies a certain threat in the future. But who and what that threat will be is not defined in this report.

How The US Military Is Adapting To Fighting Prolonged Wars

DRONES ON DECK - A BQM-74E drone launches from the USS Lassen during a missile exercise in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 21, 2010. The Lassen is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15. U.S. Navy photo by Petty officer 1st Class Carl T. Jacobson

Ever-Changing Army Fights The Longest-Ever War -- HDS Greenway, GlobalPost

Senior military officials talk about how US troops are fundamentally different than 10 years ago.

BOSTON — In an unusually high-level telephone conference briefing last night, senior military officers discussed with selected listeners the changing role of the armed services in this, the ninth year of warfare — not only our longest war, but the longest ever fought by a volunteer army, having now passed the war of the American Revolution.

Under strict ground rules, I am not allowed to say who the officers were, but here is what they had to say.

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My Comment: Forget about the impact that America's wars are having on its military .... the upcoming budget wars and curtailing a massive defit cit will impact the shape and future of the US military more than what in happening in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Combat Uniform Of The Future: Virus-Built Wearable Batteries

U.S. and Afghan army soldiers conduct a dismounted patrol near Combat Outpost Mizan in Mizan district, Zabul province, Afghanistan, Aug 19, 2010. The U.S. soldiers are assigned to Company F, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. The soldiers and members of the provincial reconstruction team met with residents to discuss upcoming provincial elections. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon

Virus-Built Wearable Batteries Could Power Military -- Discovery News

Viruses have plagued humanity for millennia, but now they've been tapped to build batteries that can be sprayed onto uniforms.

* Viruses are harnessed to produce parts for lithium-ion batteries.
* One virus made the anode, another, the cathode.
* Battery parts could be eventually grown in tobacco plants or sprayed onto clothing.

Batteries, built by viruses, could someday be sprayed onto military uniforms as wearable batteries.

Teams of researchers, one from MIT, one from the University of Maryland, have used two different viruses to create the cathode and anode for a lithium ion battery.

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My Comment: Wow .... what will they think of next.

The Future Of The U.S. Armed Forces (A Collection Of Articles From The American Interest

WNU Editor: A collection of articles from The American Interest. Their lineup is the following:

Presidents and Their Generals: A Conversation with Eliot Cohen -- Eliot Cohen
When President Obama fired General Stanley McChrystal and sent General David Petraeus to Kabul in his stead, he wrote the latest chapter in a long narrative of civil-military tensions in America.

Ebb Tide -- Seth Cropsey
American’s many post-Cold War land wars have obscured important strategic truths, among them the real value of the U.S. Navy.

Caught on a Lee Shore -- Dakota L. Wood
Redefining the strategic niche of the Marine Corps may be the key to a future as glorious as its past.

In the Army Now -- Richard A. Lacquement, Jr.
The Army’s reluctant embrace of counterinsurgency and stability operations is the right choice. Now comes the hard part: to institutionalize it.

Up in the Air -- Richard B. Andres
The Air Force is in a tailspin, and a fundamental strategic myopia is the reason.

Benevolent, Adaptable and Underappreciated -- Jeff Robertson
A technology-enabled temptation to shorten the tether on Coast Guard operations threatens the future of a uniquely resourceful organization.

Unreserved Support -- Paul McHale
A former Congressman makes the case for giving the Active Reserves their due.

Hat Tip: Small Wars Journal

My Comment: There is a lot of good meat in these articles. Read it all.

Meet The Face Of Big Brother (In Australia)

Scary stuff ... everyone's face could be mapped. Source: The Daily Telegraph

From The Telegraph:

THE State Government is quietly compiling a mathematical map of almost every adult's face, sharing information that allows law enforcement to track people by CCTV.

Experts said yesterday few people realised their facial features were being recorded in an RTA database of drivers licence photos that the Government has allowed both state and federal police to access.

The federal body CrimTrac has asked NSW for its database so it can be mined nationally by police using the facial recognition information contained in it.

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My Comment: I can easily envision this technology being used in a conflict zone in which through positioning of cameras everyone can be tracked .... and I mean everyone .... insurgents, friendly, civilians, etc..

James Cameron And Military Trends In Technology

Paging James Cameron: Pentagon Wants 3-D Surveillance -- The Danger Room

Think Avatar, for military spies. Pentagon far-out research arm Darpa wants to turn surveillance into a 3D experience for troops. They’ve launched the Fine Detail Optical Surveillance (FDOS) Program, and are requesting proposals for prototypes of optical imaging systems that would use “advanced high-resolution 3D imaging technology.” Darpa wants two kinds of surveillance systems: portable units for active battle, and drone-ready systems for unmanned planes.

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My Comment: James Cameron has an interesting history with his movies and predicting future trends in military technology.

The first UAv that I ever saw were his versions in the Terminator movies. Avator is providing the same tech .... but more advanced and better looking.

What’s Ahead For U.S. Soldiers In 2010

Soldiers assigned to Pale Horse Blue Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, perform weapons clearing operations in the fine sand sediment after returning to FOB Warhorse, Iraq following a mission in 2008. MC1 Mario A. Quiroga / Navy

From Army Times:

The surge in Afghanistan, evolving missions and tighter budgets will shape the year ahead for the Army. For soldiers, 2010 may mean tougher chances at promotion, a new camouflage pattern for uniforms and better gear and training.

Here is the final installment of our three-part series about things to watch out for in 2010.

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Previous:

What’s ahead for soldiers in 2010, Part I

What’s ahead for soldiers in 2010, Part II

Pentagon Eyes Spaceplane For Speedy Recon

Space Ship Two

From War Is Boring:

Twenty years after the U.S. Air Force first retired its SR-71 spy plane, and 11 years after a handful of the Mach-3 jets was briefly returned to military service, the military has finally identified a candidate to replace the famed Blackbird. The Pentagon’s secretive National Security Space Office is navigating a minefield of budgetary perils, bureaucratic expectations and industry inhibitions, to turn a experimental, civilian “space plane” into a high-speed, responsive reconnaissance craft.

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My Comment: One would think that satellites can do everything .... obviously not.

World Grain Demand Could Surge With Failed China Crop

From Future Pundit:

A small percentage change in China's agricultural output would cause a large increase in China's demand for grain crops.

Global grain markets are facing breaking point according to new research by the University of Leeds into the agricultural stability of China.

Experts predict that if China's recent urbanisation trends continue, and the country imports just 5% more of its grain, the entire world's grain export would be swallowed whole.

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My Comment: One can also say the same thing with India when it starts its industrial/technological revolution.