An American Lion

It’s nice to have lots of information. Too much information leaves a person queasy and confused. The right amount of information leaves a person happy and content. On the battlefield, do you really think it’s a good idea to overwhelm a soldier with too much data?

While weapons continue to grow smarter and smarter, the U.S. Army is developing armor to match the arms. A new ‘intelligent’ armor under development at the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center can evaluate its own condition, identify the type of round being shot at it, and even generate electrical power from bullet strikes. Whether wrapped around a tank or an infantryman, the smart armor can relay information to soldiers in real time, extensively upping battlefield awareness.

The armor works via piezoelectrics, which essentially turn mechanical energy into electricity (and vice versa). Two piezoelectric sensors are placed within the armor, one that turns a small electric charge into a tiny vibration, and another that turns the vibration back into an electric charge. If the armor plate is damaged, some of the current won’t be recycled at the second sensor, and a computer can then tell exactly what shape the armor is in.

I think that there’s a down side to having too much information. While it’s nice to know that the armor around a soldier is intact, I think that there’s a much better chance that other things are going to be more important—as in, are we still alive? One hole through that armor made by a depleted uranium projectile and I think the soldiers inside will not really care what some computer readout says—I don’t think they’ll care about anything at that point, other than survival, if possible.

Really, when you think about it, how much information do you need? Do you need another task when you already have five that need to be accomplished? You you need more data or do you need more relevant data? Do you need to know what kind of bullet is being fired at your tank? Probably not.

What you NEED to know is how to accomplish your mission with the tank. You need to reach objective A, for example. If you don’t, people will die, let’s say. If the tank commander is given a direct order on the battlefield to reach objective A and fire as many rounds as he can at a building or a point on the battlefield, how likely is it that the overwhelming amount of information being thrown at the crew of that tank is going to cause them to overcompensate or over react to a perceived threat? Delaying or taking some sort of different route to the objective could cause the enemy to escape or move against other forces.

We need the best technology on the battlefield. Too often, we forget to stick with what we need as opposed to all of the bells and whistles that just get in the way. Overthinking things leaves us with thousands of useless vehicles or with the wrong rifle or with helmets that don’t protect our soldiers from head injuries. We need all-purpose vehicles with modular features that can be adapted to changing environments. We need a rifle with a larger round that can knock a man down with one shot. We need a helmet that is better adapted to preventing head injuries. And we’re coming up with special armor that can tell us what kind of bullet is harmlessly bouncing off the surface?

Better priorities, please. Keep it simple and give the soldiers what they need, not what will force them to multi-task while they’re being shot at.