Specialists in the armaments industry suggest that the armor of the future, in 10-15 years, will become a reality and will be mass-produced. Combat equipment will be very different from existing counterparts. Virtually invulnerable bulletproof vests, smart ammunition, multifunctional protective helmets until recently existed only in computer games, but soon they will go into service with military units and special forces.
Electronic gadgets
Just a few years ago, the electronic components in the ammunition of soldiers seemed something awkward. Moreover, there were more complaints about the devices than they were of practical use. However, today there is a tendency that by the 2030s the troops of developed countries will be re-equipped and reformatted in terms of providing modern electronic protection.
Microscopic computers in the armor of the future are not just an auxiliary gadget, but a complete device with biosensors. Special coded impulses make it possible to receive data on the state of he alth of each soldier in real life, as well as to understand which of the fighters needs urgent helpor evacuation. Attempts have long been made to introduce electronics to search and rescue teams around the world. However, a real revolution in the field of military communications is expected in the next ten years.
US Army Electronic Security
The electronic equipment of the American army and special forces was considered one of the best in the world. This segment of the armor of the future includes GPNVG-18 panoramic night-time devices, one set of which costs about 40 thousand dollars. US military developers continue to pay close attention to improving devices for surveillance and combat missions at night or in poor visibility conditions.
The American army is going to introduce another special gadget. These are augmented reality glasses called HUD-3. They are equipped with a microscopic computer with a scanner that allows you to display the necessary information directly in front of the fighter's eyes. While the idea has not been implemented in practice, however, dozens of countries are aware and support the importance of such an idea for protecting combat equipment.
Domestic developments
Armor of the future is also being developed in the Russian Army, including means of electronic support and protection. Soon, commanders will have a unique opportunity not only to command and receive reports via secure radio channels, but also to get acquainted with operational information from the battlefield in real mode. Such an introduction is planned in the latest generation combat ammunition kit "Warrior".
The third series will not includeonly indicators and means of detection, but also microrobots with UAVs (“drones”), which can significantly improve the awareness of ground forces soldiers in combat or reconnaissance. The latest samples are already being tested. In addition to these gadgets, ground-based reconnaissance drones are being developed that can quietly reach the most inaccessible points.
Innovative ideas
One of the main elements of the armor of the future for soldiers will be electronic glasses. According to the developers from the Tochmash Research Institute, they will provide an opportunity to eliminate the enemy from shelters without exposing the operator to danger. The key task for the specified complex is extremely fast and accurate hitting the target with minimal charge consumption.
Connoisseurs suggest that in a few years, the electronic glasses of each soldier, which are integrated into the general information system, will display information that is available to officers and unit commanders. Military experts say that what used to be in video games, fantasy movies (like the armor of the knights of the future from Star Wars and similar films) or books by science fiction writers has become a necessity and will be realized in a few years. To implement the program, it is necessary to solve several fundamental tasks:
- create light and energy-intensive batteries for ammunition;
- develop the presentation of only the information that is useful to a particular fighter;
- make the interface fit for combat.
Body armor from liquidcomposition
Cool armor of the future to protect fighters - liquid body armor equipped with a special filler. It is supposed to introduce certain nanoelements into the design of armor plates, which guarantee an increased viscosity index when hit by bullets or shrapnel. Such a scheme will almost halve the weight of the body armor and significantly reduce the likelihood of severe injuries to military personnel.
Moreover, there are projects of self-healing armors. With the development of nanotechnologies, their production will be put on a serial stream. The design includes a special carbon composition with nanotubes. The last elements are developed on the basis of tungsten disulfide. The unique material will make it possible to turn standard Kevlar protective equipment into a kind of chest shock absorber for all types of charges. Bullets will just bounce off them. In addition, such bulletproof vests will be six times stronger than their current analogues, and their weight will decrease by five times.
Armor and weapons of the future
In the future, many military experts believe the emergence of smart bullets in service. They only vaguely resemble standard sniper rounds. In fact, it is more expedient to compare such ammunition with a tank sub-caliber projectile. After the intelligent bullet leaves the barrel, it releases a small protection pan, after which the miniature booster and targeting system are activated.
Such kits greatly simplify not only sniper firing, but also any defeat of giventargets with a change of position of the shooter and the spotter, who directs the laser designator to the object. The use of smart precision-guided munitions in various combat units accelerates the training of snipers. The main role in the performance of a combat mission goes to the gunner. The final result will directly depend on his preparedness and professionalism. According to experts, the shooter in 10-15 years is focused on the technical aspects of preparing the operation (delivery of the kit, its preparation and the implementation of the shot, followed by fixing the target hit).
Interesting facts
Requests similar to "armor of the future" often give search engines various electronic and other innovative ways of protecting and firing from a completely new perspective. This indicates that armor protection, in its usual sense, is fading into the background. Electronic components and nanotechnology will play a decisive role.
Already at the current stage of improvement of small arms, ammunition has been developed and produced that greatly simplifies the fulfillment of combat missions. A priority and difficult area of work in this regard is the manufacture of corrective charges, the so-called smart bullets, able to eliminate targets at distances inaccessible to standard counterparts.
There are several misconceptions about the ammunition in question. Chief among them is a proposal for the conversion of conventional cartridges and projectiles for high-precision samples. The thing isthe fact that a laser-guided active-reactive bullet, identical to a cruise missile, is several times more difficult to develop, manufacture in the required quantities, providing all the necessary characteristics.
Power Armor of the Future
If everything is more or less clear with the prospects for the development of personnel protection, what about armored vehicles? Here, too, science does not stand still. Several levels of passive defense have been developed for tanks.
One of the promising areas is intelligent armor. The system includes a set of sensors that are able to detect a full segment of impacts, dividing them by type. There are three groups of indicators:
- Electrical contact versions with discrete spheres and printed metallization patterns.
- Analogues made of fiberglass that work by controlling the attenuation of the transmitted light flux when it breaks.
- Using polyvinyldendifluoride, sheets of which generate voltage when controlled.
Throwing plates
The system of action of the specified protection on the attacking projectile with a kinetic type is identical to the reaction of the built-in dynamic defense. They differ in that the supplied drive energy of the plate elements works by electrical impulse signals, and not by an explosive composition.
It is worth noting that an attack on an attacking charge previously detected by indicators can be carried out not directly upon contact with the armor, but on its approach, whichsignificant protection efficiency. Electromagnetically launched strike elements consist of homogeneous, composite armor plates or dynamic defense parts.
From the realm of fantasy
The armor of the future, the anime of which is presented above, seems to be sketches from science fiction stories or computer games. It is currently so. However, experts say that in 10-20 years these projects will come true, and will protect the soldiers of the army and special forces many times more effectively than the current means of self-defense. It's hard not to believe this, because today's bulletproof vests and tactical military accessories, until a certain time, also seemed to be something unreal. Given that, along with the development of innovative technologies, fundamentally different defense schemes are being developed for both personnel and equipment, there is definitely potential in the development of this area.
