Combat Exoskeleton Marches Toward Afghanistan Deployment

[JJ_BPK]

The Rangerette's Equalizer..

REF: http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...ad.php?t=37901

Is anyone in Tampa for the dog & pony show??
Was this HULA contraption there?

Combat Exoskeleton Marches Toward Afghanistan Deployment

TAMPA, Florida — Dial down the god-awful soundtrack and try to ignore the choppy camera work, but re-watch Lockheed Martin’s promo video depicting its two-year-old Human Universal Load Carrier exoskeleton. Because inside of the year, an improved version of this combat exoskeleton could be headed to Afghanistan for combat trials. That’s right: cyborg soldiers might, might just be months away from becoming a front-line reality.

At least, that’s what a Lockheed rep indicated today at a Special Forces trade show in Tampa. Asked if there were plans to deploy the HULC exoskeleton overseas following its next round of Army testing, Lockheed’s special operation program manager Keith Maxwell nodded yes and said, “after that.”

Maxwell was wearing what he described as a “smaller, lighter, more energy-efficient” version of the battery-powered external skeleton, complete with an unloaded machine gun on a pivoting mechanical arm. He asked us not to photograph the exoskeleton, but he was happy to discuss it.

In essence, HULC adds an artificial, external spine, hips, legs and the aforementioned pivoting arm to a soldier’s flesh and bones. The machine extremities, powered by a lithium-ion battery, redistribute and transfer up to 200 pounds of weight down and off the wearer’s body, allowing him to carry more, longer. “There’s a 10 percent metabolic cost for the benefit of a heavy load removed,” Maxwell says.

Add loads of food, water, batteries and other supplies, and you become a human pack mule for your squadmates. Swap them out for a heavy machine gun and you transform into what Maxwell calls a “one-man crew-served weapon.” Maxwell says he live-fired his machine gun just before the trade show and “felt the recoil eliminated down to one-third.”

Lockheed originally rolled out HULC in 2010, but in a heavier, bulkier form that tended to run down its batteries in just an hour. The current model can go for up to eight hours “on the march,” and lasts “days and days” on a single charge if you’re just standing guard with a machine gun. Lockheed is still working on a fuel cell meant to provide 72 hours of power in even the most strenuous conditions.

Two summers ago the Army paid Lockheed $1.1 million to test HULC at the Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts. There, Lockheed discovered that training was critical. Maxwell says soldiers who expected to strap on the exoskeleton and leap into action without training on it first generally disliked the system. But with 90 minutes of instruction on “the right series of movements,” wearers were able to move comfortably.

In September the Army will take the improved exoskeleton out for field tests in the United States (perhaps Camp Merrill??). If all goes well and Lockheed can get the required safety certifications, HULC will head to a deployed location for a front-line trial. (These days “deployed” almost always means Afghanistan.) That won’t leave HULC much time for testing in a combat environment, as regular U.S. forces are accelerating their withdrawal after 11 years of war.

But Special Forces are slated to remain in Afghanistan for years to come. If they adopt the exoskeletons, we could be seeing (one-sided) cyborg combat on a growing scale in the near future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kat8I5UM_Vs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWumbs9MQdM

[Pete]

Watched Both Clips

I must say that's a good use of technology but......

It appears the rig is a little stiff in the ankle area and geared for pretty much straight forward movement. Look at the knee and below as he's walking on the rough rocks. Reminded me of walking on single blade ice skates.

[Team Sergeant]

We don't just "walk" forward in a straight line.

Let's see the same soldier run through the SF obstacle course with the HULC.

Looks like it might be better suited for heavy repetitive tasks, not combat.

[Scimitar]

Reading between the lines, are they gearing it to maybe one guy per squad using this and being the squad mule. The loads have got big in A-stan.

If it isn't combat friendly, you could always dump it before movement to contact, like you might your ruck. However, I can see reaction to ambush being interesting.

S

Did I miss it, or was there any running in either video?

All of that and it has batteries. Which means you have to bring along extra batteries or plug in somewhere about every 8 hours. And then, since one carries extra supplies, if anything were to go south, the enemy winds up with a nice cache. Bigger than just what one can carry under normal circumstances.

[JSMosby]

This is awesome! Give technology a few years and we will have full "exoskeletons" complete with armor, bionic suit, integrated coms, sensors, etc. Welcome to the future!

[abc_123]

Originally Posted by JSMosby

This is awesome! Give technology a few years and we will have full "exoskeletons" complete with armor, bionic suit, integrated coms, sensors, etc. Welcome to the future!

I'd love to see how that fielding goes.

I'm sure it'll be an easy process for the company supply guy to order up a couple of extra "XL" exoskeletons when the initial fielding set doesn't send enough to the company.

I keep thinking MICH helmet fielding on steroids.

LOL

I'd like to see the system design a poncho liner that my feet or stick out of (or shoulders) when I'm trying sleep without curling up into the fetal position. After that, I think the bionic suit should be next. LOL

[Dusty]

In other news, Sarah Connor just gave birth to a strapping baby boy...

[JJ_BPK]

Originally Posted by Dusty

In other news, Sarah Connor just gave birth to a strapping baby boy...

Didn't you mean Lieutenant First Class Ellen Ripley??

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

Didn't you mean Lieutenant First Class Ellen Ripley??

lol Yeah.

"Get away from here, you bitch!" (whirr, snick, ker-clank)

[greenberetTFS]

I'm bone on bone on both my knees,seems like it would be perfect for that type of civilian application.... Do we have any Orthopedic doctors that could comment on this?....

Big Teddy

[alelks]

I'm not seeing any lateral movement at the knee joint on that system.

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by Dusty

In other news, Sarah Connor just gave birth to a strapping baby boy...

We ain't that far along, yet..... but give it ten years, we should have a few thousand armed UAVs and robots......

[alelks]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

We ain't that far along, yet..... but give it ten years, we should have a few thousand armed UAVs and robots......

And some of those just might be flying around in US airspace.