Small Inventions with Big Impact Recognized by the ArmySeptember 23, 2009

 

humvee

While expensive technologies receive the most attention, the Army recently highlighted some small-scale innovations that have had an immediate impact on the battlefield by recognizing ten programs as the Army's top inventions of 2008.

One of the inventions with the most impact was armor to defend against EFPs, or explosively formed penetrators, which are so devastating that they can destroy even the most-heavily armored vehicles, according to an article in the Washington Post.
Scott E. Schoenfeld, an Army scientist, studied confiscated explosives and created a lightweight armor that uses plastic made of high-density polyethylene fibers.

"It's kind of an amazing process," Schoenfeld told the Post. The plastic is heavily processed and drawn into high strength, tightly packed composite panels. "They give very good ballistic performance."

Other winners, selected by a panel of soldiers, include:

  • Special gauze that can stop massive arterial bleeding when used as a bandage
  • A steel roof designed to protect Humvee gunners from overhead fire.
  • A device that can detect the source of sniper fire and allow a gunner to quickly return shots.
  • A specialized detector that can pick up radio emissions used to detonate roadside bombs.
  • An armored TV truck that can raise a protected video camera and other sensors as high as 30 feet to spot enemy activity.

(Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army)