On the battlefield, a soldier's best friends are his gun and his gear

because his life depends on them. But what will it take to fight and survive on the battlefields of tomorrow? What will those combat arenas consist of, and where will they be? And what will our nation's fighting men and women carry with them into battle?

This is a compendium of the weapons of war that may accompany our soldiers in the near and far future, as well as an insightful look at the soldier, sailor, and airman of today and tomorrow. All manner of military hardware is covered, as well as information about cutting-edge technology that will become standard in weapons to come, the possibility of robotic soldiers, vehicles, protective armor, and the prospects of fighting a war in both space and cyberspace.