WedgeX empowers America’s warfighters to lighten their communications load while extending mission run-time.
In the summer of 2010, a fresh wave of U.S. land forces had seemed to sprout up alongside the cornfields of Trek Nawa in Southern Afghanistan, an unsettling sight for insurgent forces. Taliban commanders urged their forces to avoid these “Black Diamonds”—a reference to the black night-vision mounts set against sand-colored helmets.
“As the Taliban had come to realize, they were not ordinary grunts,” wrote Mac Caltrider. “And they were not to be messed with.”
The forces had distinguished themselves not only for their unique headgear but their ability to deliver precise, lethal blows to high-value targets, even deep into territories considered terrorist strongholds. And like warfighters across the Armed Forces, their success hinged on their ability to travel light while maintaining regular communication with the NCOs and commanders whose missions they carried out.
For soldiers, the fundamentals of effective warfighting have changed little over the years. The mantra of “shoot, move, communicate” has guided armies since the inception of the foot soldier. What has changed, however, is the weight they carry.
“In the last 30 years… loads have skyrocketed,” wrote Army officer James King in a piece for the Modern War Institute at West Point. “On today’s battlefield, the two main culprits are batteries and body armor. Almost everything a soldier carries today requires batteries, which can add almost 20 pounds to their load.”
The Shifting Sands of Comms Demands
For warfighters, the battlefield evolves quickly. However, most comms kits are customized to meet the demands of specific mission profiles. That means soldiers need to regularly configure—and reconfigure—their comms gear while on the move. That can take hours—time combatants can’t spare—not to mention the burden of packing extra adapters and batteries for a wide range of configurations.
“Having a radio alone can add 10 pounds, and the batteries for the radio can weigh 2-3 pounds each,” wrote Eric Sof in his piece, The Weight of Duty: How Much do Soldiers Carry on Deployment? “It is essential to consider the physical demands of having this equipment, especially in challenging conditions.”
“I can only imagine the toll it takes,” added Dan Stanek, President and COO for OTTO Engineering. “If we’re asking our warfighters to be ‘light and lethal’, well, that’s got to be hard to pull off if they’re carrying half their bodyweight in gear and batteries.”
Add to this the burden of monitoring your power usage, which is ever-changing with all the comms and mission adjustments, and “it’s got to be a lot to juggle, both physically and mentally,” said Stanek.
WedgeX: Simple. Light. Automated.
“When it comes to comms gear, we want to empower today’s warfighter to pack fast, carry less, and stay focused,” said Stanek. “We believe WedgeX makes that a reality.”
OTTO and Freedom Atlantic partnered to develop WedgeX to simplify a warfighter’s communication kit. The WedgeX system offers soldiers quick reconfiguration, light loads, and extended, effortless runtime. All of this translates to a warfighter keeping their focus where it belongs—on the mission.
“We’ve learned that warfighters often find themselves in a reactionary mindset, struggling to reconfigure unwieldy, heavy comms gear in the thick of battle,” said Ken Jillson, Chief Technology Officer for Freedom Atlantic. “But WedgeX turns that on its head. It’s built on the belief that your communications system should adjust to you, not the other way around.”
Multi-Mission Ready
With its minimalist, flexible design—in particular, its universal SideLink Modular Radio Hub Adapter and configurable interface—the WedgeX system enables warfighters to adjust their kits quickly to their mission, without the need to carry extra comms equipment that can slow their mobility or prevent the carrying of other essential gear.
“A warfighter shouldn’t be in the position where they’re leaving behind mission-critical ammo or life-saving medical kits just to make room for extra batteries,” said Jillson.
Because the WedgeX system interfaces easily with a wide array of military hardware and software, including single and multi-radio systems and both new and legacy devices, it eliminates the endless cables and adapters that are common to traditional hub-and-spoke architectures.
And because it’s automated in its power management, WedgeX effortlessly extends run time and frees the warfighter to focus on operations rather than their gear.
“WedgeX measures the state of charge and real-time power requirements across a warfighter’s different devices,” said Jillson. “Based on the soldier's equipment status, it automatically prioritizes critical equipment over lower priority gear. It even maintains an emergency power reserve for the warfighter's radio ensuring it is the last device to power off due to power failure.”
Add your comment