The march to the future of warfare continues. Many armed forces are conducting programs to upgrade their warfighter systems to reflect 21st Century warfare ---- information and network-centric and that means having equipment and gear that can support the soldier’s need for information in order to gain strategic and tactical advantages over the battlefield.

The Bundeswehr are in the thick of such upgrade with their “Infantryman of the Future” system (Infanterist der Zukunft). Earlier this month they released a video showing more details of this program. The video emphasizes on the networked unit with an “electronic back” or a backpack that contains networking equipment that will receive, process, and share information to support the soldiers in battle. This allows the members of a unit to be aware of their comrades without even seeing them, especially in the dark.

The system is comprised of different components that the German soldier will need to meet their mission objectives. Apart from the “electronic back” the core of this system is comprised of communications, navigation, helmet display, and night vision-IR devices. The other components are the Weapons, Recce Equipment, Weapon Accessory Equipment, Clothing-Protection-Carrying System, Commander Equipment, and links to BMS or vehicles they deploy to the field.

Indeed, it is a wholistic system, and will be heavily be dependent on electronics and batteries. With all the equipment that will be part of this soldiers’ high-tech system, it is also imperative that they conduct weight reduction and miniaturization.

The whole system will allow the German soldiers to meet roles required in the theatres of operation, whether peacekeeping, humanitarian, or actual combat. The G36 rifle, which the Bundeswehr might replace in the near future, given the issues they say they found raising questions to its reliability and accuracy, still is the main assault rifle in the system.

The system will be continuously refined, updated, and adapted so that it will evolve into the future as soldier experience with it builds up. If everything is according to plan, and the equipment delivering the functionality as promised, the Bundeswehr will be one of the most high tech armies in the world.