Strength of the Nation Home

The Missouri National Guard's 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion became the sixth of eight National Guard battalions to transition to being an AH-64D Apache Longbow unit.

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command successfully completed a test flight of the new Economical Target-1, Feb. 15, 2012, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

U.S. Army, Pacific unveiled a fleet of 16 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that the military services in Hawaii are testing in an effort to research efficient, clean and renewable energy sources, and reduce the U.S. military's dependence on petroleum.

For the first time, a task force of an Army aviation brigade deployed to a training scenario with their own unmanned aerial systems troop organic to them.

Senior leaders from the XVIII Airborne Corps jumped the T-11 advanced tactical parachute system over Normandy Drop Zone at Fort Bragg, N.C., March 22, 2012.

The Army marked the manufacture of the 10,000th M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station, known as CROWS, March 26, 2012, during an event in Johnstown, Pa.

The Army announced plans April 11, 2012, for a "Green Warrior Convoy" to demonstrate and educate the value of science and technology in Army vehicles.

More than 300 government, industry and academic leaders converged on the Detroit Arsenal here for the grand opening of the Army's one-of-a-kind Ground Systems Power and Energy Laboratory, known as the GSPEL complex, April 11, 2012.

The Army released to industry a request for information about a replacement for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior aircraft, April 25, 2012, including a proposal to industry to provide for the Army a demonstration of the current state of the art in rotary-wing aircraft and their subsystems.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh and Lt. Gen. Bill Phillips, military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, stressed the value of the Network Integration Evaluation construct to obtain Soldier feedback and rapidly field network equipment to meet their needs, during a visit to White Sands Missile Range, N.M., last week.

The Army has completed the network design for Capability Set 13, the first integrated group of advanced tactical communications technologies that will be fielded to Soldiers beginning this fall.

The U.S. Army began operational assessments of existing combat vehicles to validate capabilities against requirements for a new Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The effort, known as the Non-Developmental Vehicle, or NDV, Assessments will take place on the border of Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

The Army is upgrading its fleet of MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft Systems while also advancing plans to equip each 10-15,000 Soldier division with its Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Targeting and Acquisition capabilities.

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial system will be able to train in the same airspace as the Boeing 747 by March 2014, with the help of the Army-developed Ground Based Sense and Avoid system.

The first-ever Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative round fired from a Stryker vehicle in Afghanistan accomplished what few conventional 120mm high-explosive mortars can achieve: a direct hit on a target with the first round fired.

The Army's next-generation friendly force tracking and messaging system crossed a key threshold July 17, 2012, as it proceeds toward the field.

The Rugged Automated Training System research sponsored by scientists with the U. S. Army Research Laboratory, in collaboration with engineers at West Point and the Counter Explosives Hazards Center, explores whether small rodents could be used to detect improvised explosives and mines.

Army engineers are designing and implementing important Stryker vehicles upgrades. The efforts are focused on technologies that will provide the platform a stronger engine, improved suspension, more on-board electrical power and next-generation networking and computing technology.

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory Enterprise for Multiscale Research of Materials kick-off meeting held from July 31 to Aug. 2, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., brought together partners and colleagues for this monumental basic research collaboration with ARL's researchers, academia and industry to pave the way forward.

For more than 90 minutes, the hybrid air vehicle known as the Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle stayed afloat above Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Aug. 7, 2012.

The 15th annual Space and Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition conducted Aug. 13-16, 2012, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala., saw more than 11,000 attendees walking through the conference exhibit halls, according to committee organizers.

Nineteen Soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), are testing female Improved Outer Tactical Vests, which were issued and fitted by experts earlier this week at the Personnel Processing Center on Fort Campbell, Ky.

As the Army prepares to begin fielding the on-the-move capabilities of its tactical communications network, it is executing upgrades to the current network backbone in order to increase the interoperability and commonality of current and future network increments.

During training in New Mexico the last week of August, Soldiers with the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, learned the benefits of having the Rifleman Radio and Nett Warrior systems with them in the field.

Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (LI) participated in testing of the new One Tactical Engagement Simulation System, Aug. 14-24, 2012, at Fort Drum, N.Y.

The Army is preparing to send its next-generation "Blue Force Tracking 2" force-locating technology to Afghanistan. The system is faster and more efficient than its predecessor in providing important data to Soldiers who are on the move in combat, service officials said, Sept. 5, 2012.

The U.S. Army is bringing coalition partners into its future tactical communications network through the Network Integration Evaluation process.

To meet the aggressive schedule the Army set for Capability Set 13 fielding, dozens of engineers and support personnel at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, in Warren, Mich., have spent the last six months immersed in design, integration and production activities on the first five "super configuration" mine-resistant, ambush-protected prototype vehicles equipped with CS 13 assets.

The Army is ramping up limited production on a new fleet of networked mine resistant, ambush protected vehicles, as part of a sweeping effort to transform its tactical communications network.

Female Soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., preparing for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan are getting a chance to weigh in on the latest innovation in personal protective equipment: body armor designed specifically to fit them.

The Army is teaming up with industry to develop a tastier, healthier meat product that uses an innovative dehydrating process.

U.S. Army officials announced the winners of its 2011 greatest inventions competition, Sept. 19, 2012.

The Load Carriage Prototype Lab, Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, at Natick Soldier Systems Center took the frame and suspension from the Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment, or MOLLE, Medium rucksack and affixed a panel that allows a Soldier to add a variety of equipment or modular packs to accommodate unwieldy ammunition, medical or electronic loads, depending on the situation.

The U.S. Army employed a 4G cellular network this summer at its integrated capabilities testbed at Fort Dix, N.J.; this was done to address integration with current network designs and to enable actionable intelligence for dismounted squads.

The Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, teamed up with Masley Enterprises and created a hand-sizing tool that has recently been patented.

The Army has received approval to continue with limited further production and fielding of a key upgrade to its tactical communications network backbone, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 2.

Defense officials and leadership from the Army and Marine Corps were joined by Vice President Joseph Biden, Oct. 1, 2012, to commemorate the rapid acquisition and delivery of thousands of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to Iraq and Afghanistan, and to formally mark the start of the transition of the program's management to the services.

The Army's current tactical communications wide area network backbone, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 1, hit a major milestone when it celebrated the final fielding of the last unit identified to receive the system.

The Department of Defense granted approval to the Army Oct. 11, to purchase 3,726 Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit Manpack radios under a second Low Rate Initial Production order. Those radios will support future test events, development up to a Full Rate Production decision and potential fielding as part of Capability Set 13.

The Army completed the first vehicle in their ground-breaking Stryker Double V-Hull exchange program. The program exchanges flat-bottom Stryker hulls for the newer DVH design.

The U.S. Army, through its System of Systems Integration Directorate, announced that the first fielding of Capability Set 13 has begun new equipment training with two brigade combat teams of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., and Fort Polk, La.

The U.S. Army-led Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program is beginning a 33-month Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase to test and prepare the next-generation vehicles for a Limited User Test, Capabilities Production Document and Milestone C procurement decision in fiscal year 2015, service officials said.

The project office for Apache Attack Helicopter announced new model designation, full-rate production decision at D.C. press conference.

Two Army scientists and a university professor earned a patent for the forerunner of a powerful quantum neural dynamics computer chip. The device uses nonstandard mathematics to accomplish analog problem solving at high speed.

An innovation that will leave female Soldiers safer and more comfortable on the battlefield was named one of Time Magazine's "Best Inventions of the Year 2012."

New algorithm that will make it easier for the Department of Defense to maintain wirelessly networked Army PackBots and other military assets using radio communications.

Two Army institutions unveiled an unprecedented shared resource designed to support basic and applied research projects that will apply a broad but integrated biological approach to a wide variety of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosives issues.

Ten solar generators are now providing Special Forces Soldiers in distant outposts the energy they need to accomplish their mission. And, these generators are allowing them precious more time to train Afghan forces and win the friendship of local Afghans.

New ballistic research areas are filling a critical gap in troop pelvic protection systems, said U.S. Army Research Laboratory engineers.

The undersecretary of the Army received a detailed and succinct depiction of how the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command supports America's warfighters during a visit to Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Nov. 14, 2012.

Soldiers using NETT Warrior during the Network Integration Evaluation 13.1 met with mock opposition forces during a combat training engagement.

The Army has awarded a new, expanded defense contract, which will enable the acquisition of hardware, software, services and data in support of the Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical mission over a five-year ordering period.

The Army's Network Integration Evaluation is not just about testing radios, smartphones and satellites. It's also giving Soldiers the latest generators, solar panels and other operational energy systems for a hands-on assessment of how best to power their new communications gear.

Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory are pioneering data teleportation -- for the real world.

The U.S. Army recently announced that the M2A1 .50 Caliber Machine Gun was among its top 10 "Army Greatest Inventions" for the 2011 calendar year. The M2A1 includes new modern features and design improvements that make it easier and safer to use including a quick change barrel, fixed headspace and timing and a new flash hider that reduces the weapon's signature by 95 percent at night.

As of this month, 673 Stryker "double v-hull" vehicles have been produced and more than 450 of them have been fielded to Afghanistan.

As members of the female engagement team with 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division, deploying soon, they will be sporting a new piece of gear that no other Soldier in Afghanistan currently has: brand new armored vests tailored to the female body.

Ballistics and material research experts told Army senior leadership on Friday that novel approaches to basic research are advancing new findings in Soldier head protection solutions against blunt impact and even shock waves.

A project involving the U.S. Army Research Laboratory's cold spray technology was named one of six environment technology Projects of the Year, recognized for research and technology developments with significant benefits to the Department of Defense.

Initial findings from the Army's latest Network Integration Evaluation show steady progress toward improved, user-friendly tactical communications systems, as well as new efficiencies from the consolidation of test practices.

Army scientists, engineers and program developers are making substantial progress building and integrating a technically sophisticated battlefield surveillance aircraft called Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System in a laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

Soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, from Fort Bliss, Texas, became the first troops to fire the Army's upcoming near-precision projectile, the XM1156 Precision Guidance Kit, during tests in October, at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz.

Soldiers are now training on the M160 MV4 DOK-ING, a remote-controlled, tracked mine clearance system to trip hidden improvised explosive devices, unexploded ordnance, and anti-personnel mines. By sending the system out to look for explosive dangers, Soldiers can clear a route without putting themselves in danger.