Just a civvie here without much knowledge about how things are working in the field nowdays. I have a couple points about the article.
The first regards the shock wave absorbant body armor. I understand the principle of adding space within the armor to disapate the shock, but from the little bit of information presented, it looks like it adds more girth to the soldiers. I'm thinking that one would have their layers of clothing, then 2" of space (4" total diameter), then inserts, then gear. I wonder how the added volume will be distibuted (soley in the front, front and back, all around) and about the effects of that volume (inside vehicles, moving through widows/breaches, etc.).
The second regards the all-hearing helmet. I can't help but think about it as a hearing aid with the associated postivies/negatives. Hey! I can hear everything! Crap that's a lot of noise. Hey! Who just said the CO was a dumb-ass!
Cheers
Bill