However, last week the Army held a 2-day demonstration at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in western Washington to showcase “communication and vision enhancement technology integrated into the U.S. Army’s Strykers” and distribution Personal combat equipment vehicle for soldiers in 8 rounds of armored combat.
In a blog post updated by the U.S. Department of Defense, it is stated that IVAS’ capabilities have been significantly improved in the last version update. To quote David Morris, chief network engineer for the Army Platforms Division at MITRE:
The main new technology we are experimenting with today is the Tactical Scalable MANET waveform, which brings data to the tactical edge at the leading edge, to infantry and vehicles, and connects these systems together so everyone knows where the other systems are. You can send messages, place graphical overlays, mission data, and more, so you have better capabilities that were previously only available at command posts.”
The system includes high-quality cameras integrated into Strykers and connected to IVAS equipment:
…now we don’t just have gun cameras and relatively small front and rear cameras, but high-end cameras with day and night vision all around the vehicle. Soldiers wearing the new IVAS technology will be able to use these cameras and access them while on mission. Rather than staring at blank steel walls, they can keep up with what’s going on around the vehicle. They can also switch to tactical map mode so they can see what’s going on around their wider mission area.