Terminator 5

[Overmind One]

there is this--now used by the US,australia and most nato nations as well as some Iraq Army and other "allied nations" to include japan and korea

it was fielded in 1997--it tracks every friendly vehicle at any selected level of command and control-from the plat ton to the corp level

so now instead of having 2LT's drawing icons on a acetated mapboard-there is now a "smart map" in every TOC and smaller one in each vehicle that shows unit location (select-able down to the indiv vehicle and in some cases the soldier (sniper's cav scouts, SF operators etc)) as well as enemy units and the FLOT

OM1 should like that it is a LINUX based system (not that i yet fully comprehend just what the hell LINUX is! :shame

it is a kinked system between the vehicles (all or most vehicles by now) and combat aircraft like the apache-between the vehicles SINCGARS radio (encypted) the GPS receiver (the PLGR also encrypted) and the battlefied management system (the "blueforce system")

in a sci fi scenario it wouldn't take too much to link it into the propulsion system--OR better yet,, just put a T100 in the drivers seat

As much as I hate war, I would be the first to admit that our military system, including that which is kept secret, is right out of Star Trek. Things we can do today are downright otherworldly. What the public sees now as Google Earth came out of the military development and the military had that capability even back in 1970! In the 90s, they could do it in REAL TIME. Now, they can see down to the level of the size of a wallet, and they can see a heat signature through a meter of solid rock. Ground penetrating radar can see even deeper. Oh, and all of this can be done at night as well.

 

[YJ02]

As much as I hate war, I would be the first to admit that our military system, including that which is kept secret, is right out of Star Trek. Things we can do today are downright otherworldly. What the public sees now as Google Earth came out of the military development and the military had that capability even back in 1970! In the 90s, they could do it in REAL TIME. Now, they can see down to the level of the size of a wallet, and they can see a heat signature through a meter of solid rock. Ground penetrating radar can see even deeper. Oh, and all of this can be done at night as well.

every piece of equipment in the set up you see in the pic from the wiki page is multi light readable--the switches buttons and displays of the radio, the PLGR(gpr receiver) and the BCS CPU and display can be seen in red light (filtered flashlight), night vision and the controls have a coating that even makes them glow in the dark for about 15 mins or so after white or red light exposure

such a small detail put into the design of this stuff--the bigger details are-as you say-amazing

but i can say, that as this stuff was coming out (except the radio and plgr) i was headed to recruiting--kind of glad i didn't have to learn a whole new system after having "mastered" the old stuff

i loved the plgr though--you can use it to do nearly everything for the field and for my job as a surveyor--everything except the temperature

this device can be used in the "clear" un-encrypted-which gets the same position accuracy as the gps in your car (most ppl have no idea that the only reaon they can use their gps is because of the law Clinton signed making the DoD lower encryption levels for more accurate civvie use--but, in time of need, the DoD can "up" the level making civvie gps units useless--how will anyone find their way then?), or encrypted where its accuracy has a +/- circle error probable of less then 30ft==not quite good enough to replace us (surveyors) and ground based survey though-but is used to fire arty in an emergency