CCDC’S ROAD MAP TO MODERNIZING THE ARMY: SOLDIER LETHALITY


with the cross-functional teams on research and innovation projects that support the Army’s modernization priori- ties. Tese collaborations drive innovation and strengthen the Soldiers’ perfor- mance, increasing readiness to meet the Army’s critical thresholds—a force capa- ble of multidomain operations by 2028 and 2035.


CCDC is developing technologies that support Soldier lethality, including a host of capabilities that enable a Soldier to shoot, move, communicate, protect, sustain and train. In treating the Soldier as a weapon system, each technology must work with the others to enable the Soldier to perform tasks and reach a destina- tion faster and with greater lethality and efficiency. To avoid the histori- cal norm of adding each new piece of equipment to the Soldier’s gear and increasing weight, we are lever- aging multifunctional materials and capability integration in our portfolio planning.


FUELING SOLDIERS Food is the “fuel” of the Soldier weapon system. Just as reducing the weight of a vehicle can increase its fuel economy, we are increasing the nutritional density of the food Soldiers eat, and that high-octane fuel will increase the Soldiers’ lethality. Te CCDC Soldier Center Combat Feed- ing Directorate is developing the Close Combat Assault Ration, a lightweight ration that’s energy- and nutrient-dense and designed to sustain small units in remote sites up to seven days without resupply. Te logistical footprint of the Close Combat Assault Ration is compat- ible with the service’s autonomous aerial and ground delivery of food and supplies for expeditionary operations.


Te Soldier Center uses emerging food processing technologies, including vacuum


108 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2020


microwave drying and ultrasonic agglom- eration, to reduce the weight and volume of military rations. Vacuum microwave drying uniformly removes water with both vacuum and microwave techniques, and can result in physically compressed food that remains moist. Ultrasonic agglomer- ation uses vibration to instantly compress food without fillers or binders, reducing the meal by 30 to 50 percent of its orig- inal size with the same ingredients and nutrition. Te Soldier Center targets a reduction in weight for a seven-day supply of food from 18 to 12 pounds. It plans to deliver final specifications for the Close Combat Assault Ration by 2022.


a continuous basis is the Human Research Volunteer Program, located at the CCDC Soldier Center in Natick, Massachu- setts. Te Soldier Center recruits 30 to 40 Soldiers for approximately 120 days to serve as a baseline model for human research and provide user feedback on tests, studies and evaluations.


Keeping Soldiers safe without increasing the weight they wear or carry is an ongoing challenge for the Army.


As part of the combat rations develop- ment process, our researchers worked with Soldiers and Marines in the 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Carson, Colorado; 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Caro- lina; and the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York, to gather feedback to refine technical and operational informa- tion, evaluate prototypes and determine trade-off analysis.


We rely heavily on input from Soldier touch points, training and testing events where Soldiers test technology and provide feedback. One touch point that we use on


A cadre of experienced Soldiers, including a company commander, first sergeant and several noncommissioned officers in the infantry military occupational specialty, are part of the program. Tese Soldiers provide valuable insight and serve as in-house tactical experts for science and technology research at the Soldier Center. Te program recently completed several rounds of data collection with Soldiers that will be used to transition the next generation of combat boots.


POWERING UP WITH STRONGER BATTERIES As the Army modernizes the current force and prepares for multidomain operations, the quantity and capa- bilities of Soldier-worn technologies are expected to increase significantly, and Soldiers will need more power and energy sources to operate them.


CCDC’s Soldier Center and the C5ISR Center are increasing Soldier lethality and survivability by researching and develop- ing batteries that are lighter and have more power and extended runtimes.


Researchers at the C5ISR Center are exploring improvements in silicon-anode technologies to support lightweight batteries, including the Conformal Wear- able Battery, a thin, flexible, lightweight battery that can be worn on a Soldier’s vest to power electronics. Silicon-anode technologies can double the performance and duration of currently fielded batteries for dismounted Soldiers. Early proto- types of the updated silicon-anode battery


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