Dismounted Combat Identification

In a complex theater of operations there is a need to track soldiers’ positions to keep them out of harms way. A secure, innovative dismounted identification system that will identify dismounted personnel at tactically significant ranges (1,200 meters or more), such as a long-range RFID interrogator and transponder system, is required to verify the actual location of soldiers, and precisely track them as them move around. This must be accomplished without providing targeting information and exposing tactical locations or logistics information to unfriendly forces. The ideal system must be vanishingly small and should not weigh more than two ounces. The soldier transponder needs to be woven into or placed on the soldier’s uniform, and difficult to detect with the naked eye. Similarly, the interrogator requires minimum size, weight, power consumption and recurring cost. The system, in general, needs to take into account human factors.