Germany’s Rheinmetall Builds Computer-Enabled Soldier Sensors – Aligns With US Army

By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News

German defense giant Rheinmetall is taking a cue from the world of sports as it further upgrades its Gladius 2.0 soldier system, which links troops, weapons, vehicles and sensors on the digital battlefield.

The company is teaming up with Austria’s QUS Body Connected to add biometric data to the equation. That will allow units to track the physical condition of individual soldiers, which can be a crucial factor in making decisions in combat.

“Biomonitoring, as we know from competitive sports, will also play an important role for soldiers in the future to optimize operational readiness, “ said Timo Haas, chief digital officer of Rheinmetall. “And with a view to digitization, AI-supported data can make an important contribution to tactical decisions at higher command levels.”

The goal of the joint project is to be able to combine biodata such as heart rate and respiratory rate with external data such as the temperature.

Rheinmetall introduced the latest version of Gladius – a Latin word that refers to a short sword carried by Roman soldiers for several centuries – in 2017. It’s a modular system that can be configured for a number of roles.

For instance, the version for light infantry forces is based on a lightweight plate carrier. It includes a radio for voice and data communication and GPS tracking, a headset and an end user device, which could be a tablet, a smartphone or a smartwatch.

Rheinmetall says the goal is to improve a soldier’s situational awareness, mobility and flexibility, protection levels, communication abilities and sensor-to-shooter capabilities.