United Kingdom: FIST

The United Kingdom’s Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) program is another soldier system effort that has been a long time coming, with Ministry of Defense (MoD) overviews citing the display of “mannequins in futuristic uniforms” in the mid-1990s.

Now, a mere two decades later, the British army’s 4th Battalion, The Rifles (4 Rifles) have become one of the first units to “take FIST to war” during their deployment to Afghanistan this year.

Over those developmental decades, the FIST concept has evolved in phases (“tranches”).

MoD descriptions note that the FIST 1A tranche equips infantrymen with new weapon sights and other elements of command, control, communications, and intelligence equipment.

The second tranche elements, that will “come into service between September 2011 and October 2014,” will “add to the infantry’s ability to defeat the enemy through close combat.”

Government descriptions identify the following FIST items in a “company pack”:

• lightweight day sights;
• laser light modules;
• helmet-mounted night vision systems;
• commanders’ target locators;
• FIST thermal and close quarters battlesights;
• common weapon and close quarters battlesights;
• maxi-kite 2 and close quarters battlesights;
• underslung grenade launcher sights/fire control systems (FCS – undergoing final development);
• lightweight infantry periscopes; and
• ruggedized digital cameras.

A representative example of these FIST elements can be seen in the close quarters battlesights being provided by Shield Public Safety & Defence. The company, which is a leading provider of “red dot sights” that are marketed under a variety of manufacturer brands, is providing more than 30,000 of its Shield Close Quarter Battlesights (CQB) to the U.K. MoD to support the FIST program.

The small battlesights, which are attached to standard rail mounting surfaces, feature a single LED that is powered by a single watch battery and reflected up to allow shooters to engage targets with both eyes open while maintaining peripheral vision.

The CQB sight design is a ruggedized outgrowth of the company’s proven Shield Mini Sight (SMS) design. An estimated 25,000 SMS are currently in use with both U.S. and U.K. defense forces around the world.

 

Spain: ComFut

The Spanish Army has also been exploring future soldier system technologies under the Combatiente del Futuro (ComFut) program.

As described by manufacturer EADS Defence & Security [now named Cassidian], the ComFut system encompasses seven primary subsystems:

• weaponry;
• power supply;
• firing efficiency;
• information and communication;
• survivability;
• sustainability; and
• preparation.

In terms of weaponry, for example, developers note that ComFut provides “an optronic weapon system that improves the soldier’s capacity to detect the enemy thanks to equipment such as a thermal camera, laser pointers and image intensifiers. The weapon sensors are integrated via a wireless connection with a visor mounted on the helmet. This is essential in ensuring the soldier’s safety, as it enables him to aim and fire from behind cover without having to show himself.”

The information and communication subsystem includes a voice and data radio terminal with GPS tracking function and a ruggedized PDA-type wireless laptop computer.

Additionally, EADS ComFut descriptions add that the entire system “was designed and developed using lighter and more resistant state-of-the-art materials for ballistic protection in the helmet and the bullet-proof vest. Likewise, new textile materials help to reduce infrared (IR) and thermal signatures, improve camouflage and provide better protection against Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radiological (NBCR) attacks.”