Future force warrior or FFW is the latest technology that has been developed by the United States military to protect additional protection yet reduce the fighting load of the soldier. This new development is a part of the Future Combat Systems project, the goal of which is to create a light weight but completely integrated combat system for all its soldiers. Various modern concepts like nanotechnology, powered exoskeletons and magnetorheological fluid-based suit are a few that has been incorporated into the making of this combat system.

This new age technology can help the solider to achieve a higher force multiplier than that of the opposing force and also help in improving the armed personnel’s lethality. There are various phases to this project and the first one includes improvement of the awareness of the combat person to various situational and environmental factors. Since this is a mammoth project, the US army intends to roll out the final end product only by 2032 but subsystems will be introduced every two years.

One such subsystem is the headgear system which has been developed to increase the situational awareness of the fighters by providing various tools for tactical approach like maps, sensors, routes, wireless communication equipments, one hundred and eighty degree emissive visor display and also small arms for protection. The FFW intends to improve on this subsystem by incorporating Cluster five soldier radio waveform, different types of sensors, embedded training and by also providing organic intelligence gathering assets. The next subsystem that is being developed is for the full body protection of the soldiers which includes bullet and fragmentation protection.

This combat uniform is referred to as Survivability central by the FFW and is made of three layers; the first is the protective external gear followed by the power centric middle layer and the inner most is the life critical layer. A lot of importance is being given to the combat uniform in this project and aims to provide complete protection to the soldiers at maximum possible level. Bullet resistant armor will be provided which can offer protection to various body parts like hands, legs, chest and abdomen.

Currently, the armor is created from materials like Kevlar which is a bullet resistant fiber and toughened ceramics but as part of the FFW project, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is trying to develop a smart material which will include iron particles that will be suspended in a mixture containing silicon oil. The final product may take a couple of years to materialize but when incorporated can provide the soldier with better protection from ballistic and fire arms.

The other subsystems that are being developed under the FFW project using advanced engineering and scientific technology are the weapons subsystem, warfighter status monitor system, climate conditioning system and power subsystem. The US army is leaving no stone unturned in offering complete protection to each and every soldier and hence the deployment of such a massive project is being undertaken at great expense.