Program Aims To Develop Army Uniforms Of The Future

Compiled ByDeborah Austin Advanced combat ensembles that incorporate today's technological advances -- from radar-detection protection to hydration systems that recycle bodily fluids into drinking water -- may help boost the performance of tomorrow's soldiers. Arthur D. Little, a Cambridge, Mass.-based management consulting firm, has been awarded a $1.4 million contract with the Natick (Mass.) Soldier Center to develop such concepts under the Scorpion Integration Protection Analysis (IPA) program -- the technology feeder for the U.S. Army's Objective Force Warrior (OFW) program. The Scorpion IPA program aims to improve human performance while increasing chances for survival. Solicitation of other firms should begin early in 2002. Arthur D. Little's role is to design concepts for protection, physiological monitoring and management, data/power networks, and load bearing. The designs will incorporate technologies that focus on the performance of the person wearing the system, not just on the uniform and equipment. The Natick Soldier Center is the research-and-development center for soldier-related programs for the U.S. Army Materiel Command. Additional information about the OFW solicitation process is available at www.eps.gov/spg/USA/USAMC/DAAD15/DAAD16-02-R-0004/listing.html