In a future conflict, American troops will command the newest war machines, not with sprawling control panels or sci-fi-inspired touchscreens, but with controls familiar to anyone who grew up with an Xbox or PlayStation in their home.
In recent years, the United States Department of Defense has gradually integrated what appear to be variants of the Freedom of Movement Control Unit (FMCU) as primary control units for a variety of advanced weapons systems, according to publicly available images posted to the department Defense Visual Information Distribution System media center.
Those systems include the new Navy Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), a joint light tactical vehicle-based anti-ship missile system designed to fire the new naval strike missile that essential to the Marine Corps’ plans for a hypothetical future war with China in the Indo-Pacific; The new army Short range air defense maneuver (M-SHORAD) which, 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 critical anti-aircraft capability in a possible clash with Russia in Eastern Europe; based on Air Force MRAP Recovery of air bases denied by artillery (RADBO) truck that use a laser remove improvised explosive devices and other unexploded ordnance; and the humvee mounted High energy expeditionary laser (HELEX) laser weapons system currently being tested by the Marine Corps.
The FMCU has also been used in a Variety of unmanned experimental vehicles.and according to a Navy Contract 2023The system will be an integral part of the operation of the AN/SAY-3A Electro-Optical Sensor System (or “I-Stalker”) which is designed to help the future of the service Constellation-class guided missile frigates track and confront incoming threats.
Produced since 2008 by Measurement Systems Inc. (MSI), a subsidiary of British defense contractor Ultra that specializes in human-machine interfaces, the FMCU offers a form factor similar to the standard Xbox or PlayStation controller, but with a rugged design. intended to safeguard your sensitive electronics against any hostile environment that US service members may find themselves in. MSI, a long-time developer of joysticks used in several US naval systems and aircraft, has worked as a subcontractor for major defense “majors” such as General Atomics, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems will provide portable control units for “several aircraft and vehicle programs”, according to the information compiled using GovTribe federal contracting software.
“With the foresight of recognizing the form factor that would be most accessible to today’s warfighter, (Ultra) has continued to make the FMCU one of the most powerful and highly configurable controllers available today.” according to Ultra. (The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment from WIRED.)
The infinitely customizable FMCU It is not a totally new technology: According to Ultra, the system has been in use since at least 2010 to operate the now obscured The MQ-8 Fire Scout autonomous unmanned helicopter of the Navy and the Ground-based operational surveillance system (GBOSS) that both the Army and Marine Corps have employed during the global war on terrorism. But the recent proliferation of the telephone in sophisticated new weapons platforms reflects a growing trend in the U.S. military toward controls that are not just tactile or ergonomic in their operation, but inherently familiar to the next generation of potential warfighters even before they sign on. until serving.