On April 12 this year, USS Donald Cook (DDG-75), the US destroyer equipped with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System was repeatedly mocked by a Russian Sukhoi-24 fighter-bomber equipped with state-of-the-art counter electronic warfare system (Khibiny) as the that failed the hitherto considered ‘unmatchable’ Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System to lock on to the Russian aircraft. But this is yet another case of technological surprises.

The US would develop a counter and the game will go on. It just happens that the days of conventional conflict are practically over, so the Russians played the cat and mouse game openly as a practical joke. But such a surprise in actual hostilities could result in catastrophic losses for the side dealt the surprise. But look at the speed of technological advances in our everyday lives that we get used to routinely. Just five-six years back, TV makers of high-definition TVs were looking to optimise 3D technology to provide stereoscopic depth and a reason for consumers to buy a newer set. But when HDTV was introduced, it was already considered inevitable that technology would make it obsolete one day. So, we already have the next wave of 3DTV and/or a 2D picture with some stereoscopic depth. All these advancements have defence applications as well; projection of the common operational picture, video streaming, etc. 3D film making has become a common feature. More and more research is being undertaken to enhance the depth of pictures. Same goes for computer animation, which is improving by the day.

Scientists specialising in nanotechnology are working on a bionic contact lens that would paint imagery and information directly on the eye to augment reality. It implies overlaying what we see with computer-generated contextual data or visual substitutions. The aim of this technology is to enhance our ability to interact with things around us by providing us with information immediately relevant to those things. Several companies have release programs that overlay position- and context-based data onto a continuous video camera feed. The data comes from various radios and sensors built into modern smart-phones, including GPS radios (for identifying position by satellite data), accelerometers (for measuring changes in speed and orientation), and magnetometers (for finding position relative to magnetic north). Smart-phones and related applications have revolutionized our daily lives.

Research is on to put the complete display directly on to the eyeball. The video circuiting would come onto wearable contact lenses, wearing which would enable you to see a continuous context based data feed, which will become routine for navigation and interacting with mobile devices. In the medical field, US military researchers announced recently they have awarded $40 million toward developing a new kind of brain implant that may help restore memories in wounded soldiers and civilians. The work represents a major scientific leap forward. The hope is that some day, a wireless implantable device would bridge the gaps in an injured brain (physical injury or trauma), making it possible to remember events, places, and context; termed declarative memories. Since year 2000, traumatic brain injuries have affected some 2,70,000 military personnel and on an average touches 1.7 million US civilians annually.

What more of future? The list is endless. But let us take a peek into the sphere of aerospace. Scientists and engineers at BAE Systems have lifted the lid on some futuristic technologies that could be incorporated in military and civil aircraft of 2040 or even earlier. The four technologies unveiled are: 3D printers so advanced they could print UAVs during a mission; aircraft parts that can heal themselves in minutes; a new type of long range aircraft which divides into a number of smaller aircraft when it reaches its destination, and a directed energy weapon that could engage missiles at the speed of light, destroy them and protect the people below.