How This Video Game Controller Became the Weapon of Choice for the US Military
In a future conflict, the US military will command the latest war machines not with vast control panels or sci-fi-inspired touch screens but with familiar controllers. belongs to anyone who grew up with an Xbox or PlayStation in their home.
Over the years, the US Department of Defense has gradually integrated what appear to be variations of this system. Freedom of Movement Control Unit (FMCU) as the primary control unit for many advanced weapons systems, according to public images released to the ministry’s agency. Defense visual information distribution system media center.
Those systems include the new system Marine Corps expeditionary ship interdiction system (NMESIS), a Light Tactical Vehicle-based anti-ship missile system designed to fire new Naval Strike Missiles necessary to the Marine Corps’ plans for a hypothetical future war with China in the Indo-Pacific; new army Mobile short-range air defense (M-SHORAD), equipped with FIM-92 Stinger and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and a 30 mm chain gun mounted on a Stryker infantry fighting vehicle, is considered a system criticize air defense capabilities in a potential clash with Russia in Eastern Europe; based on the Air Force’s MRAP Rehabilitation of air bases denuded by bombs (RADBO) that truck Use lasers clean up improvised explosive devices and other unexploded ammunition; and the mounted Humvee High-energy exploration laser (HELEX) laser weapon system is currently being tested by the Marine Corps.
FMCU was also used on one Many types of driverless vehicles testedand according to one Naval contract 2023The system will be an indispensable part of your operations AN/SAY-3A photoelectric sensor system (or “I-Stalker”) is designed to support the future of service Constellation-class guided missile frigate Monitor and handle incoming threats.
Manufactured since 2008 by Measure Systems Inc. (MSI), a subsidiary of British defense contractor Ultra that specializes in human-machine interfaces, the FMCU is similar in style to a standard Xbox or PlayStation controller but has a rugged design intended to protect it. sensitive electronics against any hostile environment American service members may encounter. As a longtime developer of joysticks used on various US naval and aircraft systems, MSI has been a subcontractor for large “defense corporations” such as General Atomics, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems will supply handheld control units for “various aircraft and vehicle programs,” according to the release. compilation by GovTribe federal contracting software.
“With the foresight to realize the most accessible style for today’s warriors, [Ultra] has continued to make the FMCU one of the most powerful and highly configurable controllers available today,” according to to super. (The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment from WIRED.)
FMCU is endlessly customizable Not a completely new technology: According to Ultra, the system does has been in use since at least 2010 to operate It’s sunset now The Navy’s MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopter and The system monitors activities on the ground (GBOSS) that the Army and Marine Corps have both used throughout the global war on terrorism. But the recent popularity of handhelds on sophisticated new weapons platforms reflects a growing trend in the U.S. military toward controls that are not just tactile or ergonomic in operation but even familiar with the next generation of potential fighters before they sign their contracts. up to serve.
