自伊拉克戰爭結束三年以來，美國國防部一直在研制新的戰爭武器和戰爭策略，以實現其高科技作戰的計劃。本文主要介紹了美國新研制的幾種武器，歡迎喜愛軍事和政治的朋友們閱讀。

                           

Fighting the next war: Three years after the war in Iraq began, the Pentagon is　taking the lessons learned from past and present battles and turning them into technologies for future conflicts.

The best-known example is the multibillion-dollar effort to counter the roadside bombs that have been the bane of U.S. convoys. In the longer run, robotic vehicles pioneered at the DARPA Grand Challenge could reduce the risk to human warfighters — eliminating the scenario that imperiled Pfc. Jessica Lynch and her compatriots almost three years ago. Near-space platforms could someday put vital communication and reconnaissance posts far out of harm's way.

But the Pentagon's high-tech frontier includes smaller, shorter-term objectives as well as grand challenges: This week, the Defense Department announced its priorities for technology demonstrations for the current fiscal year — projects that aim to get supplies as well as information to the frontlines faster.

Currently, the Pentagon has two types of technological rapid-deployment programs: the advanced concept technology demonstrations, or ACTDs; and the brand-new joint capability technology demonstrations, or JCTDs. The JCTDs are more tailored to the needs of battlefield commanders rather than the "technology push" from outside the combat zone, the Pentagon says.

The finalists were selected from more than 100 proposals submitted from the military as well as the defense industry. They may not sound as sexy as ray guns or robot soldiers. But they reflect the saying usually attributed to Napoleon, that "an army marches on its stomach" ... as well as the updated view that armies depend almost as much on their data.

                        

Among the advanced concept technology demonstrations:

Event Management Framework: An information network system that analyzes data from a wide variety of sources, including the military, federal agencies and other authorities — then comes up with a course of action. This sounds like the kind of antiterror "robo-blog" I talked about almost four years ago, but it could also raise the specter of an Orwellian cyber-spying system.

Extended Space Sensors Architecture: The Pentagon says this would address "gaps in space situational awareness that increase risk for successful combatant command mission execution." The system would integrate technology from different areas, including national missile defense, to give those combat commanders a better picture of their surroundings.

Joint Enable Theater Access (JETA): This involves a "Lightweight Modular Causeway System" that would make it easier for ships to unload fighters and equipment in seaports that otherwise couldn't handle the crush.

Multi-service Advanced Sensors to Counter Obscured Targets (MASCOT): Warfighters would be able to root out concealed threats — conceivably ranging from those roadside bombs to guerrillas in their hidey-holes — by consulting a system that integrates sensor data from a variety of sources.

Node Management and Deployable Depot (NOMADD): Just as JETA would fast-track deployment from ill-equipped seaports, NOMADD would facilitate a "factory-to-foxhole" distribution system, drawing upon such tools as RFID labeling.

Small UAV: Unmanned aerial vehicles are nothing new for the U.S. military, which has pioneered the use of big Predator drones as well as tiny robo-planes. But the Pentagon says it wants to develop "new tactics, techniques and procedures across the military services for small-unit, real-time reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities."

The joint capability technology demonstrations include:

Counterintelligence-Human Intelligence Advanced Modernization Program / Intelligence Operations Now (CHAMPION): This is an information-technology initiative aimed at optimizing the "reporting of critical intelligence-related data in a timely manner, while making data available for analysis." Among the strategies: standardizing data outputs, using XML tags, providing geotagging and enabling Web services.

Comprehensive Maritime Awareness: This information system would take in information from a variety of sources on potential maritime threats, allowing authorities to focus their resources on the most probable threats.

Joint Modular Intermodal Distribution System: The military is developing a standardized system of containers and pallets for automated loading, handling, storage, tracking and surveillance.

Large Data: This project would demonstrate a rapidly deployable, high-security system for sending huge amounts of data — including pictures and video — to and from the battlefield.

To keep up with the latest in military technology, you can always check my colleague Noah Shachtman's blog at Defense Tech.

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