A Better Hand Grenade And Lighter Armour For U.S. Soldiers In 2020

A soldier tosses a training grenade at Fort Harrison, Montana. U.S. Army Reserve photo

Defense Tech: Army Names Top 10 Modernization Efforts of 2016

The Army‘s “Top 10” modernization programs in 2016 range from a new hand grenade designed to be easier for lefthanders to throw to hydrogen-powered vehicles, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) said in a release Thursday.

The improvements soldiers can look forward to include:

1. Enhanced Tactical Multi-Purpose (ET-MP) grenade. Engineers at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey are developing an “ambidextrous” Enhanced Tactical Multi-Purpose (ET-MP) grenade that can be thrown more easily with either hand. The current M67 grenades require different arming procedures for left-handed users.

Matthew Hall, the Grenades Tech Base development lead, said the transition to the new grenades is expected to take place in fiscal 2020.

2. A new, lighter ballistic shirt. In designing the shirt, “We set out with this science and technology effort to meet the needs of high-performance athletes, which is what soldiers are,” said Robert DiLalla, team leader of the Infantry Combat Equipment Team at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center.

The shirt weighs 35 percent less than the current interceptor body armor system components it will replace. In tests, “The soldiers have spoken loud and clear with more than 90 percent user acceptance in multiple user evaluations,” DiLalla said. The new shirts are expected to be ready in 2019.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Doubling the range of the M777A2 howitzer (to 70 km) is what caught my eye.