by Bob Taubert One of the driving ideas behind the adaptation of the "Black Rifle" and its varmint caliber ammunition was to lighten the load of the ground pounding Infanteer. That was achieved through remarkable engineering, but it didn’t take long for the soldier to reverse the situation. The new light weight rounds enabled the trooper to up his basic …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com This article was published on Sept. 8, 2005. The Advanced Gunner Scanner Simulator II a.k.a. Aerial Gunner Scanner Simulator II system discussed in this article has since been renamed. It is now designated the Advanced Generation Simulator System II (AGSS II). As a door gunner in a MH-60K Black Hawk (U.S. Army) or MH-60R Sea Hawk …

by David Crane david (at) defensereview (dot) com July 15, 2005 DefenseReview.com is going to be doing an article on enhanced-blast weapons/munitions, a.k.a. thermobaric weapons/munitions for general infantry and Special Operations (SPECOPS) use, particularly those being developed by Talley Defense, as soon as we can. In the past, we’ve discussed some of Talley Defense’s thermobaric work and the KBP RPO-A …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com This article contains the first digital photo of a camouflaged/combat-ready/field-ready Foster-Miller Armed/Weaponized Talon Robot/UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle), a.k.a. SWORDS robot of which DefenseReview is aware. The weapon attached to the Talon Robot/SWORDS robot in the pic would appear to be an AT4 anti-armor/anti-tank weapon (ATW) (i.e. rocket launcher), which is produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics, Weapon …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview was fortunate to get the chance to watch the Full Spectrum Close-In Layered Shield (FCLAS), a.k.a. "Full Spectrum Active Protection Close-In Layered Shield" (FSAP/FCLAS), video demonstration at the FCLAS booth at the 24th Army Science Conference (ASC 2004) exhibition. The Full Spectrum Close-In Layered Shield (FCLAS), or Full Spectrum Active Protection Close-in Layered Shield (FSAP/FCLAS), …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview recently attended the 24th Army Science Conference, in sunny Orlando, FL. The conference was held at the truly spectacular JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes (where we stayed, thanks to the U.S. Army). The conference itself was pretty terrific, as well. O.k., I’m going to discuss a number of very interesting military/military-applicable technologies I observed inside …

by Noah Shactman The U.S. Army is betting $92 billion that the wars of the future should be fought with smaller, lighter, more manueverable vehicles. But some military officials and defense contractor executives are saying that that these technology-laden Future Combat Systems (FCS) are too weak to withstand urban conflicts, like the one currently playing out in Iraq. Like the …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com The U.S. Army is developing new thermobaric munitions for their BDM(Bunker Defeat Munition) and M203 grenade launchers, and ultimately for the XM29/OICW(Objective Individual Combat Weapon) as well. This is a long time coming. The Russian army has been using thermobaric light support weapons since its Soviet/Iron Curtain days. The Russian RPO-A Shmel is a perfect example. …

Looks like the U.S. Army and Marine Corps will soon be using magnetic fields to protect our troops in combat. It’s about time. We could have really used this technology back in Somalia in ’93(and right now in Afghanistan). It could have saved a lot of lives. RPG’s(Rocket-Propelled Grenades) continue to be an ongoing problem for us in small-scale conflicts, …

My name is Kevin Donell Vance. In June, I will have been in the United States Air Force for eight years. I hold the rank of Staff Sergeant. I am currently married with two children, ages four and two. I was born on 3 September 1976 and am currently 25 years old. I entered into the USAF eleven days after …