This SCAR assault rifle is very different from the rest since it comes with an ammo counter just like what you see in the movies and video games, where a "black box" located within the handgrip will network with the soldier alongside the home base. This sealed grip will log the number of bullets fired alongside the amount of ammo remaining. Apart from that, there is work being done to pair it to specific soldiers via biometrics, rendering the rifle useless in the hands of the enemy.

Sometime in the near future, will we all own one of these as personal transportable devices? If you’re attracted to the scene in that pretty picture, maybe we will be having such a future, eh? Carter Aviation technologies, which has been trying for 15 years to win acceptance for its radical gyrocopter/aeroplane technology seems to have finally gotten a good deal, as it has partner with successful military robot make AAI. There isn’t any mention on the estimated cost of building/buying such a device, but you have to admit it’ll certainly be something to show off with. Check out more details on how it works here.

Nice to know our men in uniform who proudly and bravely defend our country will be getting prototype versions of flexible AM-Pholeds. It remains to be seen just which part of the battlefield operations will experience action with such prototypes, although we do know that the US Army has its eyes on enabling flexible PHOLED technology to be adorned on a soldier, perhaps to check out real time instructions from the top right on your sleeve without bogging you down with heavy equipment?

The boffins at GE are currently working on a new batch of wearable RFID sensors that are smart enough to detect airborne chemical agents. No idea on how they're going to commercialize this though, but that's a good problem to have (and solve down the road). Apparently, the final product can be part of a badge and worn on clothing, being fully capable of detecting chemical agents in the air even when they're at ultra-trace concentrations. Could this help alert ordinary folks to the presence of anthrax or other poisonous gasses during a terrorist attack? Might be a tad too late then, but at least it will be able to pinpoint who was the culprit that let out a silent fart in the elevator. [Press Release]

Want to look cool while knowing that your pair of shades will remain there even when you're thrown a really hard punch to the eyes? That's what the Japanese militarty is endorsing - the Japan Self-Defense Force Sunglasses. Its lens won't fracture even if it is hit at 106mph by a 0.3" object - that's just how strong it is. Also, it is capable of holding up to a 500g piece of iron dropped on it without batting an eyelid. Would you fork out $317 for some virtually indestructible cool?

Remember the Big Dog robot that moves in such a lifelike manner, it is almost uncanny and unnerving? The folks at Boston Dynamics have made improvements to it by weaponizing Big Dog, allowing future robots on the battlefield to fight our wars without running the risk of injuring or getting our soldiers killed since Big Dog can be controlled remotely from afar.

Theoretically, the ADE 651 handheld detector ought to be a firm favorite with military types as this device supposedly sniffs out bombs, guns, drugs and human bodies within a one kilometer radius, but there is one huge problem - it does not seem to function as it should be. This could prove to be an embarrassment for the US government after purchasing 1,500 of such detectors that retail from $16,500 to $60,000 each, depending on the model and type.

You're supposed to carry your own stuff in the army, and anyone who has fought for Uncle Sam will tell you that the backpack is by no means light. Well, things might not change in the future, although this time round it will involve a power generating backpack that will harness the power of your natural up and down motion when steps are made to generate power that can then help reduce the amount of batteries required in the battlefield. Makes us wonder just how many batteries are there in a typical backpack, but at least you know you can make phone calls and use other electronic devices while you're marching without worrying about depleting the batteries of the devices mentioned too much.

A research team at the University of California Berkeley just announced that they managed to implant electrodes into a beetle successfully, where this operation enabled scientists to control the insect’s movements in flight. This research could full well see action in military operations in the future, after all, the research itself was supported by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Ultimately, these mind-controlled insects could be used to “serve as couriers to locations not easily accessible to humans or terrestrial robots”. Creepy.

The DARPA-backed Vulture strato-wingship is able to keep on going for up to 5 years in our upper atmosphere without the need to land, thanks to it being feather light and yet strong. This electrically propelled aircraft can charge up onboard energy-storage systems by harnessing the power of the sun, and during those moments of darkness, the Vulture will have to depend solely on stored energy in order to navigate through powerful stratospheric winds and keep the payload system running. Vulture II is expected to proceed next month within a $155 million budget. We wonder what will the military do with the Vulture II when it is released - an eye in the sky network that is more mobile than military satellites?

Bad guys everywhere, beware - even a high wall won't deter governments and their dedicated military machine from hunting you down. The latest progress in the robotics department results in a military robot which is able to clear obstacles more than 7.5m (25 feet) in height - and this is despite the fact that the robot itself is roughly the size of a shoebox, relying on a quartet of wheels to get around. Sorta like a mechanical flea, don't you think? Dubbed the Precision Urban Hopper, it relies on a piston-actuated "leg" that propels it over obstacles including walls or fences. The Precision Urban Hopper will be guided via GPS and would come in handy for surveillance purposes in urban environments. Expect delivery of these puppies to happen sometime later next year.

Life in the military has just gotten a whole lot more interesting with the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) exoskeleton. While it won't be as useful as the ones see in G.I. Joe, this li-ion battery-powered exoskeleton ought to turn a normal grunt into a well-equipped soldier who is ready to wreak havoc on the enemy, featuring lightweight hydraulic legs with titanium structure that allows one to hang a 200lb backpack from the back frame while carrying heavy chest armor and kit from shoulder extensions with relative ease. Battery life will drain fast if you're running, but slow marches at 4kph ought to last for up to 5 hours. Needless to say, the HULC is still a work-in-progress and we're extremely interested in the final product.

Pretec has come up with a new kind of SSD that supposedly self-destructs data within in a speedy and efficient manner, targeting it for military and secret service use. The patented technology used takes all of just 0.1 seconds to erase data within - infinitely faster compared to what standard SSDs take (around 20 seconds). After all, soldiers don't have the luxury of 20 seconds during an emergency to get rid of sensitive material and data stored within. Initiation of the self-destruct command will see several layers of fast erase happening until everything is gone for good. This process, once started, cannot be aborted or stopped even if one removes the said SSD.

We're guessing if you live in some war torn country and need to have a sense of security with you at all times even when you hit the sack, the Bed Bunker would make for a pretty no-brainer of a choice. After all, it is able to stash away a bunch of firearms for you and your family's safety (up to 32 rifles or 70 hand guns), and is fireproof up to 1533 degrees based on tests, alongside high-security Mul-T-Locks which were specially designed to replace the box spring under twin, queen, or king size mattresses. In addition, it is compatible with most standard bed frames (we wonder if this includes Ikea products). The Bed Bunker won't come cheap at $2,200 for the twin sized, and $4,000 for the king sized double safe.