Super Warriors
New technologies could give American troops superpowers.
By Tiffany Ayers

In the blockbuster movie "Spider-Man," teenage nerd Peter Parker gains superhuman powers after being bitten by a spider. Soon he's slinging webs and climbing walls as he battles the evil Green Goblin.

Far-fetched? Not these days, now that the human genome code has been cracked and scientific research is resulting in fantastic applications. The idea of new technology giving an ordinary man superhuman powers is especially appealing to the U.S. military. In a world changed by the Sept. 11 attack and the war on terrorism, the military is increasing its spending on technology products.

"The Army has decided that the soldier has been overlooked," says Ned Thomas, director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (isn), a recently established center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

"We have designed smart weapons, laser-guided bombs, and aircraft carriers. But ultimately you win wars by putting people on the ground and taking territory. So we're turning our attention to the soldier - not burdening him to death, but giving him new capabilities and keeping him light."

Not your father's BDU

Scientific advances could result in battle dress uniforms (BDUs) that offer already fit and well-trained servicemembers additional capabilities, including protection from bullets and biological weapons, increased strength and endurance, and advanced communications.

The soldier of tomorrow could be a "spider man," with body armor made of spider silk, a material that's lightweight, flexible, and five times as strong as steel. This uniform could protect against bullets, able to withstand 600,000 pounds per square inch.

Scientists at Nexia Biotechnologies in Montreal are breeding genetically engineered goats that produce milk rich with spider-silk proteins that can be spun into fiber. The development of spider silk is an example of how innovative materials are being created with biotechnology, which uses organisms, tissues, cells, or the molecular components derived from living things.

"How do you make enough silk so the military can create a flexible jacket or T-shirt?" asks Jeffrey Turner, president and ceo of Nexia. "We realized we would need something large and cost effective, like goats, which could eat grass and produce milk. So we combined the old technology of animal husbandry with the new biotechnology."

Nexia is looking to develop the silk, trade-named Biosteel, for military, medical, and industrial markets. In fall 2002, Nexia announced an agreement with Acordis Speciality Fibres Ltd., a medical textile manufacturer in England, to develop a fiber-spinning process to produce the silk in large quantities.

"We continue to watch Nexia to see what developments could have military applications," says Jerry Whittaker of the Army Materiel Command's Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass. The center formed a research partnership with Nexia to produce the spider-silk protein and form threads; their findings were published in January 2002 in the journal Science.

Superhuman strength

While Spider-Man can swing from building to building, Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound. With an exoskeleton suit currently under development at MIT, the soldiers of the future could indeed leap higher, too. The suit could give them the power to block out biological weapons and deflect bullets. It could solidify, when needed, creating a "forearm karate glove" for combat or a medical cast when soldiers are injured. Enhancements to the legs of the suit could allow them to carry heavier weights, run faster, and jump higher.

"Now you think of a BDU with a Kevlar vest over it," Thomas says. "Our vision is a more multilayer suit that gives the soldier enhanced performance." Researchers are using nanotechnology - the science of building things on a molecular level, where materials can take on new characteristics - to compose soft and lightweight clothing, a kind of molecular chain mail. MIT won a U.S. Army competition for the five-year, $50-million proposal to establish the isn. Industry will contribute an additional $40 million in funds and equipment. Some results could be seen within the next five years, though others are many years from production.

Strong as steel

In the movie "Robocop," the hero - a policeman who is killed on duty but robotized and sent to fight crime - is protected by incredible armor. Working on that same idea, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a powered suit of armor that could give ground troops more strength and endurance. The suit could allow them to carry bigger weapons, bulletproof armor, better communications devices, and more supplies. They could run faster and last longer in combat. The suit could be especially effective in urban terrain, where battles of the future are expected to be fought.

"We want to give our troops at least a two-horsepower augmentation of strength and endurance," says Ephrahim Garcia, who directed the exoskeleton program at DARPA and is now a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at Cornell University. The agency gave $50 million in grants to Sarcos, a Salt Lake City engineering firm; Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn.; and the Human Engineering Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley to create a legs-only exoskeleton ready for trials by 2003. A whole-body version could be ready by 2005.

Garcia says versions of the suit could be created for different missions. "Now the soldier can carry 120 pounds and move 2 kilometers an hour," he explains. But, with a suit designed for deep reconnaissance, "he will be able to carry 200 to 300 pounds, which will feel like 5 to 10 pounds, and he'll be able to go as fast as 8 kilometers an hour."

Another version of the suit could provide better armor for use in combat. "Currently soldiers carry two ceramic plates, front and back," Garcia says. "If we can give them better armor and cover more area, we can increase the probability that the first bullet won't kill them. We can better protect them but at the same time allow them to move with the same load they do now."

Researchers will rely on developments in power generation, microprocessors, and control technologies to create the suit. The biggest challenge will be how to power it, whether using fuel cells, a new type of internal combustion engine, or a monopropellant system powered by hydrogen peroxide, similar to those used by rockets.

Another challenge will be control. Garcia says that while the action figure toys that his son plays with are operated by levers, "We want to create a machine that uses a layer of sensing between you and the machine so that as you move in a natural way, the machine will follow what you do. It's the first time we're trying to bridge the interface between man and machine."

Green light for biotechnology A report published by the National Research Council in June 2001 encouraged the military to continue developing products based on biotechnology and envisioned a fighting force in 25 years that could wear sensors to detect chemical or biological weapons and light armor derived from organic materials. The report said the Army should place high priority on researching self-replicating biomaterials for wound healing, protein-based electronic devices for portable data storage, and drugs to treat shock. Other possibilities include edible vaccines and efficient solar cells based on photosynthesis. The report stresses the importance of developing defensive technologies aimed at improving the survivability of U.S. soldiers and specifically does not address the use of biotechnology for offensive applications. "Although soldiers in 2025 may look much the same as their present-day counterparts, they will be drawn from a society that has been armed by biotechnology with increased strength and endurance and superior resistance to disease and aging," the council reports. It has gotten results. "One of the biggest outcomes of the study is that the Army has seen fit to establish a biotechnology center, which would go a long way [toward] fulfilling what the [report's] committee recommended," says Robert Love, a staff member of the National Research Council, who directed the study. "They're looking for ways to keep up with advances in biotechnology … and new investments in research by such a center would open lines of communication with academic and industry leaders in nonmedical areas of biotechnology important to future Army applications, such as biomaterials, bioelectronics, and biocomputing." A university-based Army research center, with a yearly budget of $5 million, will be established in 2003, once a university has been selected. Love says even before Sept. 11, the National Research Council's report was taken seriously, but now there is heightened awareness of possible military applications. In addition, Love believes people's attitudes about biotechnology are changing. "We are approaching the point where some of the ethical dilemmas - for example, is the American public going to allow performance-enhancing drugs for soldiers on the battlefield or genetic screening of recruits - will become easier to resolve," Love says. "I think the public is going to accept biotech for what it is, and it won't be as fearful about taking advantage of agricultural and medical advances. We haven't crossed that bridge yet, but I personally think the public will eventually have to change its attitude toward biotechnology or else find that we're losing the war to those more willing to take full advantage of its potential."

High-Tech Camouflage

In the movie "Predator," Arnold Schwarzenegger's character fights a creature that can blend in with the environment. Similarly, chameleon camouflage technology, currently under development at the Soldier Systems Center, could allow soldiers to change the patterns and colors of their uniforms as the environment changes. The technology could include nanomachines and electronically conductive textiles connected to a computer on a carrier.

"The soldier could program a code or take a picture and send it back [to the carrier]," says Dutch De Gay, an engineer at the Soldier Systems Center. "Then the camouflage would change to match the environment." That technology could be available in the next 10 to 15 years.

Swim like a fish

New uniforms also are being developed for use in the water, so servicemembers can be as comfortable there as Aquaman, a comic book character known as the "King of the Seas." SmartSkin will help divers automatically adapt to the environment so they can stay warm. It adjusts the permeability of the fabric's inner layer with a thermally sensitive polymer hydrogel. The gel allows water to flow through the closures and within the suit when the diver is warm but cuts off the flow when the diver's skin temperature drops below a preset limit. It looks like a wet suit but is lighter and more flexible. There are versions for freshwater and saltwater.

SmartSkin is being developed by Midé Technology Corp. of Medford, Mass.; the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.; and the U.S. Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility, an installation partner at the Soldier Systems Center. It could be fielded within the next five years.

Cool gadgets

Batman and Robin have the Batmobile, but the Air Force and Coast Guard are investing in unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). Developments in UAVs already have resulted in combat capability - the CIA used the Predator to fire missiles in the war in Afghanistan. In the future, UAVs could be controlled from gunships and fire laser guns guided by radar. They also could land deep in enemy territory and take off again when a threat arises in order to strike quickly from close range.

One company even has conceived a rigid flying suit that would allow troops to swoop onto the battlefield. Trek Aerospace Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., is developing an exoskeleton suit that is equipped with two powerful propellers - a kind of wearable helicopter.

Giving soldiers an edge

Today's servicemembers already are some of the best trained, most physically fit fighting forces in the world. Will they, in the future, be superheroes? Not necessarily, says De Gay. "We're now giving soldiers the same level of technology that we've given to vehicle platforms," he explains. "In the past we've given them some weapons and gear and told them to fight. Now they'll have combat overmatch to the nth degree. We don't want them to think that they're going to be 10 feet tall and able to deflect bullets, but they will be 30, 40, 50 times more effective than before."

Developments in technology will give ground fighters an edge in combat, Garcia agrees. "Now when our side and the other side go at each other, our communication equipment gives them a technological edge, but in terms of mechanics of combat, they're similarly equipped," Garcia says. "We're trying to see what technology can do for the guy on the ground - how it can make him more formidable."

The Army will be giving the soldier of the future the Objective Force Warrior System, unveiled in May 2002 and scheduled to be fielded in 2008. The helmet contains night-vision goggles, thermal sensors, day-night video cameras, and chemical and biological sensors to help soldiers make a positive identification and prevent friendly-fire casualties.

The uniform will contain physiological sensors that allow soldiers, their commanders, and medics to monitor soldiers' blood pressure, heart rate, internal and external body temperature, and caloric consumption rate. Thus, many injuries - such as those due to heat and cold - could be prevented. And if a soldier is injured, medics can make an assessment even before reaching the scene.

The uniform will contain a selective permeable membrane - which allows heat and vapor out while preventing anything microscopic from coming back in - that will protect the soldier from biological and chemical weapons. The material has about the same thickness as cotton, thus doing away with the heavy, hot, charcoal-based garment that soldiers now have to carry in their backpacks.

"So if the soldier is deployed in a dangerous environment, he doesn't have to take time to don a uniform," De Gay says. "He has it on all the time. He doesn't have to worry about exposing himself to dangerous elements."

The uniform also will contain its own microclimate conditioning system. A special fabric that's a little thicker than a cotton T-shirt will have "capillaries" that blow hot or cold air through the system. "In Afghanistan, a lot of the gear they're carrying is for cold weather," De Gay says. "Now we can give them their own personal heater or cooler."

The system is powered by nickel metal hydride fuel cells - a super version of cell phone batteries. And, importantly, the uniform will weigh no more than 45 to 50 pounds. A ground troop in Afghanistan typically carries 92 to 105 pounds of mission-essential equipment, including ammunition, chemical protective gear, and cold-weather clothing.

Anything that's not incorporated into the new uniform will be carried on a robotic mule. Each squad will have one small, remote-controlled wheeled vehicle that can perform several functions - generating and purifying water, recharging batteries, and supporting weapons. The mule also can communicate with UAVs to give the squad members a true image of the battlefield.

With the recent military investment and scientific research, our superheroes may no longer be just figures in comic books and on the big screen but our sons and daughters in the service.