In upcoming military conflicts, American forces will operate the most advanced weaponry not through complex control panels or futuristic touchscreens, but via interfaces reminiscent of gaming consoles like Xbox or PlayStation that many grew up using.
In recent years, the US Defense Department has slowly started to adopt variants of the Freedom of Movement Control Unit (FMCU) handsets as the main controllers for numerous sophisticated weapon systems, as seen in publicly available visuals shared on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System media platform.
These systems include the innovative Navy Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) launcher, which is a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle-mounted anti-ship missile system aimed at launching the new Naval Strike Missile, deemed crucial for the Marine Corps’ envisioned strategies for a potential conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific region. Also noteworthy is the Army’s Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) system, which incorporates FIM-92 Stinger and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles along with a 30-mm chain gun mounted on a Stryker vehicle, recognized as a vital anti-air asset in potential confrontations with Russia in Eastern Europe. The Air Force’s MRAP-based Recovery of Air Bases Denied by Ordnance (RADBO) vehicle utilizes a laser for eliminating improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance, while the Humvee-mounted High Energy Laser-Expeditionary (HELEX) weapon system is currently being tested by the Marine Corps.
The FMCU has also been utilized on a diverse array of experimental unmanned vehicles. According to a contract awarded to the Navy in 2023, this system will play a key role in operating the AN/SAY-3A Electro-Optic Sensor System (known as “I-Stalker”), which is designed to assist future Constellation-class guided-missile frigates in tracking and engaging incoming threats.
Since 2008, Measurement Systems Inc. (MSI), a subsidiary of the British defense contractor Ultra that focuses on human-machine interfaces, has been producing the FMCU. This controller resembles a standard Xbox or PlayStation controller but features a rugged design meant to protect its sensitive components in challenging environments where American service members may operate. With extensive experience in developing joysticks for various US naval systems and aircraft, MSI collaborates as a subcontractor with defense leaders such as General Atomics, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems to supply handheld control units for multiple aircraft and vehicle programs, as detailed in information compiled by GovTribe, a federal contracting software.
“With the foresight to recognize the form factor most accessible to today’s warfighters, [Ultra] has made the FMCU one of the most highly configurable and powerful controllers available,” claims Ultra, although the company did not reply to several requests for comments from WIRED.
The FMCU, known for its extensive customization, isn’t entirely new technology: Ultra notes that the system has been in operation since at least 2010, controlling the now-retired Navy MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle and the Ground Based Operational Surveillance System (GBOSS), utilized by both the Army and Marine Corps throughout the ongoing global war on terror. However, the recent widespread adoption of the FMCU across advanced new weapon systems illustrates a growing trend within the US military to adopt controls that feel not only tactile and ergonomic but also familiar to the upcoming generation of soldiers before they enlist.
“For RADBO, the operators are generally a much younger audience,” an Air Force representative informs WIRED. “As a result, using a PlayStation or Xbox-style controller like the FMCU is a natural transition for the gaming generation.”
It’s not surprising that the United States military is turning to custom-built controllers resembling those from video games; various branches have long experimented with using conventional gaming controllers for managing innovative systems. The Army and Marine Corps have utilized Xbox controllers for operating small unmanned vehicles for over ten years. These have been used for ground units in explosive ordnance disposal tasks and airborne drones, as well as larger equipment such as the M1075 Palletized Loading System logistics vehicle. Additionally, the “photonics mast” used on the Navy’s new Virginia-class submarines also employs this affordable Xbox controller, as does the Navy’s Multifunctional Automated Repair System robot, which addresses everything from in-theater battle damage repairs to shipyard upkeep.
This trend extends to defense contractors looking for new Pentagon contracts: Take for instance the LOCUST Laser Weapon System by BlueHalo, which serves as the Army’s Palletized-High Energy Laser (P-HEL) system. This system explicitly utilizes an Xbox controller for soldiers to target approaching drones and disable them—similar to the military’s earlier laser weapon initiatives.
By the year 2006, games like Halo had become immensely popular within military circles. Tom Phelps, who was a product director at iRobot at the time, told Business Insider in 2013 about the company’s use of a standard Xbox controller for its PackBot IED disposal robot. “We collaborated with the military to promote and standardize the idea … It proved highly successful, as younger soldiers familiar with gaming adapted quickly.”
Commercial gaming controllers have gained traction beyond the US military, appearing in projects like the British Army’s remote-operated Polaris MRZR all-terrain vehicle and Israel Aerospace Industries’ Carmel battle tank. The latter even incorporated controls influenced by feedback from teenage gamers, who opted for regular controllers over traditional fighter jet-style joysticks. Recently, Ukrainian forces have been employing PlayStation controllers and Steam Decks to navigate armed drones and machine gun turrets in engagements with Russian forces. Additionally, these controllers have found unusual civilian uses: notably, a submarine from OceanGate that suffered a tragic failure during a dive to the Titanic wreck in June 2023 was operated using a variant of a Logitech F710 controller, as reported by CBS News at the time.
“They are much more inclined to experiment and significantly less apprehensive about technology … It seems to come to them instinctively,” said Israeli Defense Forces colonel Udi Tzur to The Washington Post in 2020, commenting on the adaptation of the Carmel tank’s controls for younger operators. “While it may not be exactly like playing Fortnite, it’s somewhat similar, and remarkably, these young operators translate their skills into operational efficiency very quickly. Honestly, I was surprised at how fast this could happen.”
Utilizing cost-effective video-game-style controllers for advanced military weaponry has its advantages. Primarily, it’s about control: Video game controllers are not only more ergonomically designed, but their buttons and joystick arrangements provide tactile feedback that’s often lacking in conventional US military touchscreens. The Navy experienced this firsthand after the 2017 collision of the USS John S. McCain with an oil tanker near Singapore. This incident prompted a shift from bridge touchscreens to mechanical controls across its guided-missile destroyer fleet, following a report from the National Transportation Safety Board that noted sailors preferred mechanical controls due to their ability to provide immediate tactile feedback. Even though a US service member may not utilize a controller with a “rumble” feature, video-game-style controllers like the FMCU offer notable tactile (and tactical) benefits over touchscreens, as several studies suggest.
The primary advantage of using video-game-style controllers for the Pentagon is their familiarity to most US service members. By 2024, over 190.6 million Americans, or around 61 percent of the population, were involved in video gaming, as per a report from the Entertainment Software Association trade group. Data from the Pew Research Center released in May shows that 85 percent of American teenagers engage in video gaming, with 41 percent indicating they play on a daily basis.
In terms of specific gaming systems, the ESA report highlights that consoles with their unique controllers are particularly popular among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the demographics likely to participate in future conflicts. The Pentagon is, as described by military technology expert Peter W. Singer, “free-riding” on an industry that has long trained Americans in using a familiar set of controls and ergonomics, which have been relatively standardized since the PlayStation introduced elongated grips in the 1990s (with the exception of the Wii remote, which the Army considered for bomb-disposal robots nearly twenty years ago).
“The gaming companies invested significant sums in crafting an optimal, user-friendly interface and subsequently dedicated years to training the US military personnel on how to navigate that interface,” Singer said in a March 2023 interview. “These designs are intentional, and the same talent pool drawn from for their commercial audience is also supplying the military… and much of the training is practically complete.”
Currently, it is not clear how many systems within the US military utilize the FMCU. The Pentagon, when approached for clarification, verified that the system is employed on the NMESIS, M-SHORAD, and RADBO weapon platforms, and directed WIRED to reach out to the respective service branches for further information. The Marine Corps confirmed that the device is used with the GBOSS, while the Air Force reiterated the same for the RADBO. The Navy indicated that it does not use the FMCU with any operational systems at this time; the Army did not respond to inquiries.
The future prevalence of the FMCU and its commercial off-the-shelf counterparts within the US military ranks is yet to unfold. However, control systems that proficiently convert human actions into machine operations tend to endure for decades after their initial adoption: after all, the joystick (or “control column,” as referred to in military terminology) has been a staple in military aviation since its creation. One can only hope that the Pentagon has not shifted to the Power Glove by the time we face the next major conflict.