With the future just around the corner, most advancements in technology will be coming forward, unfortunately, it will mean that we will also be making advancements in the militarization of these advancements. In this blog, I will discuss some of the technology that I have found particularly interesting. In the best interest of both nations and their personnel, this move toward the automation of both industry and combat means that it could potentially save civilian lives while simultaneously taking out potential threats.

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Airforce

 (BATMAN) [1]

One of the advancements that the Airforce is working on is the Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided kNowledge (BATMAN) program which aims to eliminate the challenges faced by airmen. This program will include the following:

• Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (BATDOK)- this is designed to monitor multiple patients’ vital signs wirelessly, store details about the care the patient will receive and also sends the data off for the duration of the patients care.

• Handheld Electronic Audio Recording System (HEARS)- this will allow the solider to keep in contact with field radios as well as aircraft, it also allows the recording of communications for after-battle reports.

• Spatial Proximity Under-canopy Reporting Sensor (SPURs)- this device is worn on their feet this will allow paratroopers to have a detection system that will inform them how for to the ground they are, this will allow troopers to jump in low light or night time safer than it used to be.

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Super Helmet [2]

The second of the advancement the Airforce is planning the “Super Helmet” [2] this helmet is designed for F-35 pilots. This helmet is made combining Kevlar and carbon-fibre cloth and custom for each pilot made using a 3D scan of the pilot’s head, the pilot’s eyes are also measured so the technicians are able to set up the optics to within 2millimetres of the centre of each pupil to allow seamless field of vision. While each helmet costs $400,000 each what kind of gadgets do they contain?

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• 360 vision - When the pilot looks around, they will be able to see through the plane using the F-35’s 6 onboard cameras

• Heads Up Display- This allows the pilot to see statistics on the screen such as altitude and speed and distance.

• Night vision- This allows the pilot to be able to run night-time operations, as opposed to before when pilots had to remove their helmets to put on night vision goggles this helmet has it built-in.

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Navy

The Future of Navy ships is on the horizon, in the past the dreadnought class of ship was big bulky and a huge target for enemy ship [3], But in the future, this could change as technology advances so do the military application of the technology. The dreadnought 2050 as a whole seems to be a huge advancement in naval warfare, being able to fill the roles of many types of ship from submarine to aircraft carrier (albeit without manned craft) is a really remarkable feat. The Dreadnought 2050 has multiple technological advancements that will make it a powerhouse in the waters. Technologies such as:

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• Local 3D Printer- This allows the dreadnought to 3D Print drones to use for battles and release them from the hangar on top of the ship.

• Electro-Magnetic Railgun- this is able to fire projectiles the same distance as today’s long-range cruise missiles

• Smaller crew- this warship will consist of around 50 to 100 sailors as opposed to the 200 found on current ships and the operations room would be staffed by 5 people as opposed to the 25 that current ships require.

• Holographic Command Table- allowing the dreadnought to engage its systems from the operations room

• Moon Pool or Floodable Dock Area- this allows for the deployment of marines and unmanned underwater vehicles to detect mines.

• Extendable Flight Deck- this allows for the deployment of unmanned aircraft many of which have weapon systems capable of targeting enemies without putting the crew at risk.

• Submersible- the dreadnought would be able to submerge itself and still be operational, this means that it would be harder to detect.

• No Mast- Instead of having a mast it will instead have a tethered drone which will have multi-spectral sensors capable of detecting pretty much anything. This drone will be able to take down enemy missiles and aircraft by using a built-in laser.

• Super-Cavitating Torpedoes- These will be able to evaporate the water around them while moving at about 300 knots (345mph)

• Fusion Reactor or Highly Efficient turbines- These will allow the vessel to not produce as much sound as other dreadnoughts

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In conclusion, I think that these advancements in technology will benefit the military industry, allowing the protection of civilians and soldiers themselves while allowing potential threats to be neutralized. I can only look forward to seeing what technological advancements happen in my lifetime.