Page 101 - Australian Defence Magazine September 2018

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KATHERINE ZIESING | CANBERRA
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potential utility of a passive exoskeleton for dismounted close combatants with the in- tended purpose being to transfer the weight of soldiers’ carried equipment directly to the ground and reducing fatigue.
Role of DSTG
An initial partnership with the Canadian company Mawashi significantly informed the development of this type of system and Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) remain engaged with industry and academic partners to progress the develop- ment of mechanical load carriage devices.
As part of this effort, DSTG researchers, cognisant of some soldiers carrying more than 85 kilograms of mission-essential per- sonal equipment, have developed a proof- of-concept three kilogram fully-passive exo- skeleton. This uses Bowden cables to attach to a rigid backpack frame. The cables run down the back and legs to the base of the boot and transfer approximately two-thirds of the backpack load to the ground.
From left: The iterations of the armour system used by the ADF reflect the lessons learned on operations
Due to its expense the SCE is not a one- for-one replacement for legacy equipment.
Units receive the SCE on an ‘access not ownership’ methodology and troops receive the ensemble through the unit as opposed to an individual issue, although it’s planned that all soldiers will receive some basic field equipment suitable for their role and task.
Additionally, Army and CASG have
developed the SCE Modernisation Plan
which is using opportune funding to pro-
vide additional SCE to the ADF close com-
1 17/10/17 4:54 pm
Tranche One completes this rollout. Currently, around 35,000 sets of SCE in varying configurations have been deliv-
ered under this modernisation plan.
“We haven’t completed the requirements and done the costings for equipment mov- ing forward but it’s certainly more expen- sive, so the access and ownership method- ology is something we’re going to look at
closely,” COL Fogarty stated.
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Em Solutions ADF Half Page Taipan.pdf
bat community before Land 125 Phase 4
LAND FORCES
SOLDIER SYSTEMS
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