SHArc: Soldier Worn Power & Data

Thales vs the challenge of integration and powering the future

The art of “Soldier System Engineering” is recognising that every user needs to be given systems that align with exactly what they need whilst being flexible enough to allow future changes as well as being the most cost-effective (where “cost” covers weight, power, bulk, cognitive load, as well as finance). This is how Thales have approached the Soldier Worn Power and Data solution. 

The rapid and ever-increasing expansion of new technology in the commercial world is providing the means to offer very significant enhancements in the capabilities of the dismounted soldier, especially in the information domain. This is commonly referred to as the “Future Soldier System”, but there is a power requirement cost. To this end technology offers major benefits but also brings additional challenges in the dismounted domain. The Internet of Things, Digital Identity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Autonomy all benefit from data sharing whilst contributing to power management requirements. A smart battery that can send updates about its status, linked to an individual or unit, and utilising at various points along the chain of communications AI to support logistics, resupply, and operational planning (based on GPS locations as shared on a data enabled network) where options are presented to commanders is a new reality that can be brought into being by the adoption of a soldier system which is both power and data sharing. 

Thales have a vision for the future of soldiering.  We call it Collaborative Combat. Imagine a world where commanders at every level have access to power status information for all relevant users presented in an intuitive way which provides them with an instant understanding of the limitations each user/sub-unit will face from diminishing power and all the options for modifying consumption or redistributing power. Where data flows from attached devices through the soldier system, and out through software defined radios to inform commanders of real-time locations, observations, and threats. That is our vision and it starts with a Soldier Worn Power and Data solution. It starts with the Thales SHArc