Vanguard Magazine

s sOlDIer OF THE FUTURE www.vanguardcanada.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 25 w hen the idea of the soldier of the future is discussed, the typical image that comes to mind is a warrior suited up in sensor-laden body armour, a helmet with heads-up display visor, and probably an exoskeleton system for good measure. However, a more accurate picture of the soldier of tomorrow is far from a cross be- tween Iron Man and the Storm Troopers in Star Wars. The regular Canadian army soldier of tomorrow will go into battle equipped with high-tech communication and navigation systems that will not be unfamiliar to the corporate warriors from Toronto's Bay Street. In fact they will be accessing and transmitting battlefield information on an interface device well- known to everyone. You might say it looks like a smartphone. The Force Employment Concept for Canada's army of tomorrow calls for mili- tary technology to assist small dispersed teams in gathering "situation awareness" that will provide land commanders the in- formation they need to make operational and strategic decisions and at the same time empower the small teams to make rapid decisions to achieve the command- er's desired outcome. Last year, the Canadian government awarded the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu- based electronics and weapons systems maker Rheinmetall Canada an initial con- tract worth $7 million for the Integrated Soldier System Project. The ISSP is a suite of military equipment that soldiers wear as part of their combat load. The suite includes weapon accessories as well as electronics that enable soldiers to stay connected with teams when they are in the battlefield. The system is comprised of a radio, a commu- nication headset and a "smartphone-like" computer that runs GPS and battle man- agement applications. "The nature of warfare has evolved due to asymmetric threats," says Alain Tremblay, CEO and vice-president of Rheinmetall Canada. "Now more than ever, knowledge is power – it is seen by every armed forces in the world as a weapon." This means, according to Tremblay, that in the age of the Internet of Things "the soldier himself will become a sensor, col- lecting data from the battlefield and relay- ing it to land commanders in real-time." Before working for Rheinmetall, Trem- blay served in the Canadian army for 33 years. He became commander of the land forces in Quebec and retired as a brigadier general. Rheinmetall is working with Saab AB of Sweden on the ISSP. As the prime contrac- tor, Rheinmetall is responsible for system development and integration, program management, and integrated logistics. Rheinmetall expects to finalize the quali- fication period for the ISSP this March. Upon successful qualification and system acceptance for production, Rheinmetall will deliver 1,632 units this year. Once the government declares the sys- tem fully acceptable, it may exercise op- tions under the contract to purchase up to 4,144 more units, and award a second con- tract for related support. The total value of both contracts could reach $250 million, according to the armed forces. HARRIS Tactical Radio ULTRALIFE 2 battery packs (side pouches) RHCAN: RHEINMETALL CANADA Tactical User Interface

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