New-Age Armies

The change has been striking. The "transformation" advocated by Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush's first defense secretary, envisaged that the armed forces would be slimmed down and money invested in "smart" weapons, reconnaissance systems and data links. Speed, stealth, accuracy and networks would substitute for massed forces. The Army's idea of its "future warrior" was a kind of cyborg, helmet stuffed with electronic wizardry and a computer display on his visor, all wirelessly linked to sensors, weapons and comrades. New clothing would have in-built heating and cooling. Information on the soldier's physical condition would be beamed to medics, and an artificial "exoskeleton" (a sort of personal brace) would strengthen his limbs.