Missiles for Infantrymen: An Army of One

Individual infantrymen of the US military are being provided with progressively upgraded technologically sophisticated equipment. Soon an infantryman will be able to control 15 or more mini-cruise missiles to targets up to 25 miles away.

Enter the newest piece of Army gear: the Non–Line of Sight Launch System, already nicknamed “missiles in a box.” With NLOS-LS, soldiers at the platoon level will be able to fire up to 15 tiny precision-guided missiles from a Port-O-Potty-size crate and guide them to strike moving targets up to 25 miles away. These remote-control missile launchers can be brought to isolated areas by helicopter or truck, or dropped by parachute.

The Department of Defense recently announced that select high-tech infantry gear from the $200 billion Future Combat Systems program, including NLOS-LS, will be sent to combat troops in 2011, three years earler than planned. FCS has lost about $1 billion in funding over the last four years, with many skeptics claiming the program doesn’t help soldiers fight guerrillas. Focusing on infantry—and delaying FCS’s new armored vehicles—could mollify these critics. _PopMech

Just add UAV recon capability and every infantryman can also provide his own air cover and artillery. That makes for a very potent infantry. Give a squad a contingent of armed and battle-tough robots, and they can multiply their force-factor even more.

Of course, none of that technology makes the world a better place, unless the military is disciplined, highly selective, and has a commander in chief who knows when it is appropriate and necessary to use it. Vladimir Putin would like to have such a military. But he is stuck with rusting relics of his own making. Over-centralisation of decision making is a real impaler, Vlad. And you're the one who's sitting on it.