Coming soon, the soldier as a weapon system

Coming soon, the soldier as a weapon system Rakesh Goswami Mhow (MP), February 19, 2005|20:55 IST

The Army will no longer be only marching on its stomach. It will soon be taking a large byte of the virtual world. The future Infantry soldier will scan the battle on the visor of his helmet; have navigational aides like the GPS; and don a protective suit to guard against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. He will have highly sophisticated weapons to have more protection, more firepower and a higher degree of situational awareness. During training, he won't go to the mountains to train in combat in rocky terrain; he won't go to the firing ranges to better his aim. He'll just sit in a virtual reality laboratory and press 'Alt-Tab' between dessert and mountain or between attack and defence. For effect, two to three soldiers will perform the same combat task that 10-15 men do in the current scenario. The Army is planning to make the future Infantry soldier a weapon system. The project, called F-INSAS (Future Infantry Soldier As A Weapon System), will start with the setting up a virtual reality-based training (VRBT) laboratory at The Infantry School in Mhow. Once this laboratory is set up, there will be less live firing during training; the soldier wouldn't need to travel to specific locations for training in particular terrains or climatic conditions. This will cut down expenditure on ammunition as well as on transportation and save time. Says The Infantry School Commandant Lt. Gen. DP Singh: "In 10-15 years from now, the Infantryman will be a weapon system. The VRBT will bring a great deal of flexibility in training." It sounds unbelievable. In the present circumstances, the soldier goes to the desserts to train in that terrain and to the mountains for training to operate in rocky terrain. Post VRBT, he will sit in the laboratory and just switch between software to travel from one training area to the other. "Training," Lt. Gen. Singh adds, "is an expensive proposition. The expenditure on ammunition is a matter of concern. We will simulate realistic combat situations in a synthetic environment in the virtual reality lab." The new concept will involve training of real soldiers with real equipment to fight in a virtual environment. The school proposes to use the higher end of simulation to create 3-D effects, acoustics and feel of touch and later integrate motion with it, he adds. "The benefits of VRBT can be exploited multi-dimensionally by training soldiers in different tactical and combat scenarios and terrains," says Faculty of Studies director Col RJ Sharma, who is officer in charge of the project at The Infantry School. "It can also be used to place a small Infantry sub unit in a defensive battle scenario, where it repels an attack of a virtual enemy combined with the effects of a real battle - the soldier in the laboratory will even feel battle smells," he adds.