High-tech futuristic military gear often seen in movies or video games is making its way to the modern-day infantryman.

Dozens of Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, trained with the Family of Weapon Sights-Individual (FWS-I) optic May 23, 2017, as part of an April 24-June 10, 2017, Reliability Growth Test for Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier.

This is in line with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley’s guidance of modernization and readiness. According to the project team, the Soldiers are testing the most advanced weapon sights and optics available in the world for an M4 carbine or like model variant. This is breakthrough technology and provides a tactical advantage to Soldiers through quicker engagements and the possibility of firing behind cover.

“The capability that we call rapid target acquisition is the ability to wirelessly connect your weapon sensor and move that image into your night vision goggle. This is the first generation of that,” said Col. Christopher Schneider, project manager for Soldier sensors and lasers, PEO Soldier.

The light infantry battalion was chosen by U.S. Army Forces Command and has been testing the FWS-I for the past several weeks.

“(This is a) phenomenal opportunity to put it through its paces and see it in a real operational environment; especially getting feedback from Soldiers. We believe this capability will provide significant overmatch,” said Schneider. “There’s nothing out there like it. Near-peer threats don’t have anything like this. It has the potential to transform how you fire and maneuver at the squad and platoon level. It was exciting to watch.”

The FWS-I will be the smallest and lightest thermal weapon sight fielded to the U.S. Army. It weighs less than 2 pounds and operates at ranges greater than 960 meters (3,149 feet). It’s a thermal weapon sight that can be mounted on either the M4 carbine rifle, M249 squa d automatic weapon or the M240L machine gun. The FWS-I enables faster target acquisition and visibility in all environments, day or night.

“You can see greater distances than our normal sights that we have,” said Spc. Benjamin Ritter, infantry team leader, 1st Bn., 41st Inf. Reg. “You have so much more capability with what you’re looking at. Let’s say you have black-hot, then you can switch to white-hot. There’s a lot more options within the system to tailor it to that specific Soldier.”

Ritter explained in further detail the aspects of the FSW-I he enjoys the most.

“The clarity is one of my favorite parts of the system, you can zoom in and pick out details that can influence your decisions, movements and your actions,” said Ritter. “You have a lot more confidence in where you’re going and what you’re seeing. You’re moving much faster because you have the greater confidence.”

He said the optic relates to a popular military-style video game.

“It’s definitely got some ‘Call of Duty’ elements, you can look around corners and be looking at the opposite direction. You can hip fire targets up to 200 meters away pretty easily,” he added.

The thermal optic can provide dismounted Soldiers with critical information during a mission.

“When you enter a small village, or take contact from the enemy, and you need to get information to your guys — how many people, weapons systems or how far — this thermal optic is definitely good for that,” said Spc. Marque Van Norton, infantry team leader, 1st Bn., 41st. Inf. Reg. “Having that and the night vision in one system is definitely advantageous. With the thermals, you get to see almost a click out; you’re able to engage more precisely and deadlier.”

In today’s environment of restricted financial considerations, commanders are hard pressed to make the most of their training dollars. One asset available to the creative planner can be participation with the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC). The Operational Test Command (OTC), within the ATEC, provides funding to allow units to conduct relevant training while providing feedback on new equipment.

“For this particular test, the unit is getting to shoot over 65,000 rounds of ammunition and conduct over 35 decisive action situational training exercise missions,” said Maj. Robert P. DeGaine III, Maneuver Test Directorate, OTC. “All of this is being resourced by the project manager, so the unit is getting great training, building readiness and saving money, all while providing the Army invaluable feedback on the FWS-Individual.”

He said that Soldiers are performing rigorous and realistic training to ensure the capability works, and it’s a great opportunity for Soldiers to have a voice in what equipment they will be using in the future.

The FWS-I is projected to be fielded to the Army in 2019.

“We were surprised at how fast these new technologies were coming to us. I didn’t think that I’d be testing out things that I’d seen in movies or played in games, but here I am. It’s just incredible,” said Ritter.