Nanotech Armor Could Help Protect Troops

Our troops should have this protection as soon as possible.

Here's the full article:

div class=storyheadline>Nanotech Armor Could Help Protect Troops

Fri Nov 14, 9:54 AM ET

By Doug Tsuruoka

The Humvees GIs use in Iraq (news - web sites) are built for speed, not protection.

The light vehicles work best in fast maneuvers, racing after the enemy.

But Humvees are ill-suited for military occupations requiring long patrols, defense industry and military sources say.

Their thin sides are easily pierced by small arms, mines and rocket grenades, making them favorite targets for guerrillas.

The Humvee's weakest points are aluminum doors backed by canvas. That's why GIs in Iraq are lining the sides of their vehicles with sand-filled boxes to protect against ambushes, the sources say.

Now, a technology straight out of science fiction may be drafted to save American lives.

The Pentagon (news - web sites) is talking with US Global Nanospace Inc., a small firm in Carson City, Nev., about retrofitting Humvees with doors and turrets made of a new lightweight armor. Made from polymer fibers, the armor's said to be stronger than steel and dense enough to stop shrapnel and bullets.

Rise Of Nanotech

If the project goes through, it will be a key step. That's because the armor will be made a molecule at a time using nanotechnology.

Nanotech is a new science that uses magnetism or other forces to create molecule-sized devices and materials with special properties.

The new Humvee armor looks like an ordinary fiber sheet on the outside. But electrical forces will have arranged its molecules into an ultra-strong structure that absorbs enemy fire. The sheets can be sandwiched together and packed into doors or turrets to shield U.S. soldiers. The material is expected to be much stronger than anything on the market today.

The technology took decades to perfect, but analysts say nanotech is now a reality where growing numbers of defense and security products are concerned.

US Global is one of several firms supplying nanotech-based products to the military and law enforcement. "It's been shown (that) many concepts behind nanotechnology already work and aren't 50 years away," said Dan Ratner, the author of a new book, "Nanotechnology and Homeland Security: New Weapons for New Wars." He co-authored the book with his father, Mark Ratner, a noted nanotech researcher.

Ratner says many consumer products, such as magnetic drives in computers, contain nanotechnology.

On the homeland security side, Ratner says, products include "nanofoams" that decontaminate locations hit by anthrax or SARS (news - web sites). There also are germ nanosensors and nanofilters that scrub dangerous agents from the air.

The new Humvee armor from US Global could be a big help in Iraq. "The vast majority of Humvees deployed aren't armored because the extra weight cuts their performance. But we've developed an armor that weighs less than 200 pounds altogether and can stop a 50-caliber slug," said Brad Squires, US Global's chief technology officer.

Because of their light design, Humvees can't carry loads heavier than 400 pounds on their roofs. This makes it hard to mount heavy armor in the weapons turrets.

That's one reason why U.S. Rangers in Humvees suffered such heavy casualties in Somalia in 1993.

US Global has developed an anti-ballistic SAG (Save A Gunner) Turret for the Humvee that sits on the roof and weighs just 200 pounds. The turret is packed with sheets of the new nanofiber and is being tested by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites).

US Global also is developing nanofibers that filter dangerous germs and chemicals from the air. The filters, which are being readied for commercial use, are designed for building heating and air conditioning systems. They could be used in hospitals and government and military facilities. They also might be adapted for use in gas masks and plane ventilation systems.

"The technology behind (these fibers) was developed by NASA (news - web sites) to provide ultrafine air filtration," Squires said. "The particles are actually attracted to the fiber through a natural gravitational force - so you could have a SARS or anthrax virus sticking to it."

Another US Global project involves developing nanoparticles called dendrimer-star polymers that seek out and destroy germs or neutralize chemicals.

The particles would be mixed with a chemical/biological decontamination foam called All-Clear that US Global sells as a first-responder product to cope with terror attacks.

All-Clear currently relies on enzymes to break down or kill dangerous chemical and germ agents. But adding nanoparticles is expected to make it more effective.

Lab On A Chip

On the nanosensor end, MicroSensor Systems Inc. and Agilent Technologies Inc. have developed devices that detect germs and chemicals.

Ratner says all the firms use a similar approach dubbed lab on a chip.

The thumbnail-sized lab chips are integrated with tiny chemical and biological devices built through nanotechnology.

They identify substances through molecular match-ups or use molecular-sized tools to process germ or chemical particles.

The analyzing devices are so small, a large number can fit on an object the size of a computer chip.

Agilent, with $6.1 billion in sales, is one of the biggest providers of the technology.

Its lab chips have molecule-sized channels that break up a germ's DNA or other proteins in a process called fluid dynamics.

The fragments are copied and put through a briefcase-sized bioanalyzer device that shows if it's anthrax or another germ.

Results come through in two or three minutes. The chips analyze 16 to 20 samples at a time. It works on bacteria, viruses, DNA, RNA and proteins.

The chip/analyzer sets are being sold to federal agencies and local governments. They're also being fine-tuned for homeland security uses.

One refinement involves equipping the analyzer system with a full library of all known germ warfare agents, says Tom Gluodenis, a homeland security marketing manager for Agilent.

"If there's a white powder that needs to be ID'd, you would extract DNA from it, replicate that DNA and introduce that to our bioanalyzer," Gluodenis said. "Our device would then detect the characteristic fragments of known pathogens."

Ratner says these products are only the beginning.

"There's a whole suite of technologies coming for homeland security and the military," he said. "You could have nanofabrics that shield troops and first responders against blasts and chemical and germ weapons. You also could have tiny, ultra-lightweight batteries that can be used by such personnel."

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I always thought the side panels were made from kevlar.

Guess I was wrong.

(Admin Mod, please pull if posting full article raises copyright issues)

Full text:

Nanotech Armor Could Help Protect Troops
Fri Nov 14, 9:54 AM ET

By Doug Tsuruoka

The Humvees GIs use in Iraq (news - web sites) are built for speed, not protection.

The light vehicles work best in fast maneuvers, racing after the enemy.

But Humvees are ill-suited for military occupations requiring long patrols, defense industry and military sources say.

Their thin sides are easily pierced by small arms, mines and rocket grenades, making them favorite targets for guerrillas.

The Humvee's weakest points are aluminum doors backed by canvas. That's why GIs in Iraq are lining the sides of their vehicles with sand-filled boxes to protect against ambushes, the sources say.

Now, a technology straight out of science fiction may be drafted to save American lives.

The Pentagon is talking with US Global Nanospace Inc., a small firm in Carson City, Nev., about retrofitting Humvees with doors and turrets made of a new lightweight armor. Made from polymer fibers, the armor's said to be stronger than steel and dense enough to stop shrapnel and bullets.

Rise Of Nanotech

If the project goes through, it will be a key step. That's because the armor will be made a molecule at a time using nanotechnology.

Nanotech is a new science that uses magnetism or other forces to create molecule-sized devices and materials with special properties.

The new Humvee armor looks like an ordinary fiber sheet on the outside. But electrical forces will have arranged its molecules into an ultra-strong structure that absorbs enemy fire. The sheets can be sandwiched together and packed into doors or turrets to shield U.S. soldiers. The material is expected to be much stronger than anything on the market today.

The technology took decades to perfect, but analysts say nanotech is now a reality where growing numbers of defense and security products are concerned.

US Global is one of several firms supplying nanotech-based products to the military and law enforcement. "It's been shown (that) many concepts behind nanotechnology already work and aren't 50 years away," said Dan Ratner, the author of a new book, "Nanotechnology and Homeland Security: New Weapons for New Wars." He co-authored the book with his father, Mark Ratner, a noted nanotech researcher.

Ratner says many consumer products, such as magnetic drives in computers, contain nanotechnology.

On the homeland security side, Ratner says, products include "nanofoams" that decontaminate locations hit by anthrax or SARS. There also are germ nanosensors and nanofilters that scrub dangerous agents from the air.

The new Humvee armor from US Global could be a big help in Iraq. "The vast majority of Humvees deployed aren't armored because the extra weight cuts their performance. But we've developed an armor that weighs less than 200 pounds altogether and can stop a 50-caliber slug," said Brad Squires, US Global's chief technology officer.

Because of their light design, Humvees can't carry loads heavier than 400 pounds on their roofs. This makes it hard to mount heavy armor in the weapons turrets.

That's one reason why U.S. Rangers in Humvees suffered such heavy casualties in Somalia in 1993.

US Global has developed an anti-ballistic SAG (Save A Gunner) Turret for the Humvee that sits on the roof and weighs just 200 pounds. The turret is packed with sheets of the new nanofiber and is being tested by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Global also is developing nanofibers that filter dangerous germs and chemicals from the air. The filters, which are being readied for commercial use, are designed for building heating and air conditioning systems. They could be used in hospitals and government and military facilities. They also might be adapted for use in gas masks and plane ventilation systems.

"The technology behind (these fibers) was developed by NASA to provide ultrafine air filtration," Squires said. "The particles are actually attracted to the fiber through a natural gravitational force - so you could have a SARS or anthrax virus sticking to it."

Another US Global project involves developing nanoparticles called dendrimer-star polymers that seek out and destroy germs or neutralize chemicals.

The particles would be mixed with a chemical/biological decontamination foam called All-Clear that US Global sells as a first-responder product to cope with terror attacks.

All-Clear currently relies on enzymes to break down or kill dangerous chemical and germ agents. But adding nanoparticles is expected to make it more effective.

Lab On A Chip

On the nanosensor end, MicroSensor Systems Inc. and Agilent Technologies Inc. have developed devices that detect germs and chemicals.

Ratner says all the firms use a similar approach dubbed lab on a chip.

The thumbnail-sized lab chips are integrated with tiny chemical and biological devices built through nanotechnology.

They identify substances through molecular match-ups or use molecular-sized tools to process germ or chemical particles.

The analyzing devices are so small, a large number can fit on an object the size of a computer chip.

Agilent, with $6.1 billion in sales, is one of the biggest providers of the technology.

Its lab chips have molecule-sized channels that break up a germ's DNA or other proteins in a process called fluid dynamics.

The fragments are copied and put through a briefcase-sized bioanalyzer device that shows if it's anthrax or another germ.

Results come through in two or three minutes. The chips analyze 16 to 20 samples at a time. It works on bacteria, viruses, DNA, RNA and proteins.

The chip/analyzer sets are being sold to federal agencies and local governments. They're also being fine-tuned for homeland security uses.

One refinement involves equipping the analyzer system with a full library of all known germ warfare agents, says Tom Gluodenis, a homeland security marketing manager for Agilent.

"If there's a white powder that needs to be ID'd, you would extract DNA from it, replicate that DNA and introduce that to our bioanalyzer," Gluodenis said. "Our device would then detect the characteristic fragments of known pathogens."

Ratner says these products are only the beginning.

"There's a whole suite of technologies coming for homeland security and the military," he said. "You could have nanofabrics that shield troops and first responders against blasts and chemical and germ weapons. You also could have tiny, ultra-lightweight batteries that can be used by such personnel."

A good reason to get this technology into the field.

Improvised Explosive Devices in Iraq (Tactics and Pics)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1021731/posts

Most of the attacks are against our logistics and support troops who drive in HUMMVV with little or no armor because during peacetime, combat units had first priority. One of the problems we have in DoD policy is we develop advanced and very expensive technology. When it comes time to buy them, we can afford a few, and the few will go to combat units first, logistics/support units second and Guard/Reserve units last (unless your unit is a fill in brigade for active combat division). Guerillas will attack our service and support troops who are the least combat trained and least equipped with the latest and greatest (remember the term assymetric warfare freepers, we should know the principles because our enemies will always use it against us). You see this with body armor. Many deployed units from Guard/Reserve and logistics troops are equipped with flak jackets that do not have the expensive Kevlar bullet stopping plate in them. Some parents were shelling out $ 650 plus to buy them from commerical sources and sending them to their sons in Iraq. This situation is the product of a peacetime army that emphasizes technology (very sexy to demonstrate and get funding for) and not logistics (not so sexy and the last to fund). I wish the politicians/DoD types remember Hitler's military was technically advanced against the Russians, but it was bad logistics that defeated it.

As the man said,"there was a hell of a lot they didn't tell me when I hooked up with this outfit."

Much of this is so much stuff and feathers.

A great many of the Humvees have already been uparmored along with bullet proof glass to give protection, but only against small arms fire. For the latest generation of RPG's the uparmored Humvee when hit by one is just another tin can

Will armor protect the troops in an armored Humvee from RPG's, other such heavy weapons or land mines? No way. But for that matter as in a caparison to the Humvee, the famed and much more heavily armored Bradley fighting vehicle has also been destroyed by the latest generation of the RPG's. To the uninitiated and for all appearances the Bradley looks like a tank, see link below.

So uparmoring the Humvee will help, but only to a point.

http://www.pmbradley.org/pictures/IMAGE59.jpg

I wish the politicians/DoD types remember Hitler's military was technically advanced against the Russians, but it was bad logistics that defeated it.

The Russians had immense logistical support from the US and Britain. Large amounts of radio and phone equipment along with a large percentage of their prime movers (jeeps and trucks).
The current US deployment of equipment has been done for economic reasons - make the point of the spear the hardest. In force on force operations there is no other country in the world that can touch the US.