In a future conflict, U.S. troops will operate the latest war machines not through expansive control panels or sci-fi-inspired touchscreens, but through controls familiar to anyone who grew up with an Xbox or PlayStation console at home.
Over the past few years, the U.S. Department of Defense has gradually integrated what appear to be variants Freedom of movement control unit Mobile phones (FMCUs) are the main control units for various advanced weapons systems, according to publicly available photos posted by the department’s office. Defense visual information distribution system multimedia center.
These systems include fresh ones Navy Expeditionary Ship Interception System (NMESIS), a Joint Featherlight Tactical Vehicle-based anti-ship missile system designed to launch the fresh Naval Strike Missile, which necessary to the Marine Corps’ plans for a hypothetical future war with China in the Indo-Pacific region; The army is fresh Maneuverable short-range air defense (M-SHORAD), which bristles with FIM-92 Stinger and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and a 30-millimeter chain gun mounted on a Stryker infantry fighting vehicle, is seen as critical anti-aircraft capabilities in a potential clash with Russia in Eastern Europe; based on Air Force MRAP Reclaiming air bases denied by Ordnance (RADBO) the truck is uses a laser removal of improvised explosive devices and other unexploded ordnance; and mounted on a Humvee Expeditionary high-energy laser (HELEX) laser weapons system is currently undergoing testing by the Marine Corps.
FMCU was also hired on various experimental unmanned vehiclesand according to A Navy contract for 2023the system will be an integral part of the operation of the system AN/SAY-3A electro-optical sensor system (or “I-Stalker”), which is intended to assist with the future of the service Constellation-class guided missile frigates track and respond to upcoming threats.
Produced since 2008 by Measurement Systems Inc. (MSI), a subsidiary of British contractor Ultra that specializes in human-machine interfaces, the FMCU has a similar form factor to a standard Xbox or PlayStation controller, but with a ruggedized design intended to protect its sensitive electronics from the hostile environment that U.S. soldiers. MSI, a longtime developer of joysticks used in a variety of U.S. Navy systems and aircraft, has served as a subcontractor to major “major” defense companies such as General Atomics, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems is reported to be supplying portable control units to “various aircraft and vehicle programs.” compiled by federal contracting software GovTribe.
“With the goal of anticipating the shape that would be most accessible to current soldiers, [Ultra] continues to make the FMCU one of the most configurable and proficient controllers available on the market today.” According to to Ultra. (The company did not respond to repeated requests for comment from WIRED.)
Infinitely customizable FMCU is not a completely new technology: According to the Ultra system, yes in use since at least 2010 operate now at sunset The Navy’s MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned autonomous helicopter Ground operational surveillance system (GBOSS), which the Army and Marine Corps used during the Global War on Terror. However, the recent proliferation of cell phones on fresh, sophisticated weapons platforms reflects a growing trend in the U.S. military toward controls that are not only uniquely tactile and ergonomic in operation, but inherently familiar to the next generation of potential combatants before they even sign a contract. until serve.