FORT IRWIN, California -- It's the largest military war games ever attempted by the United States armed forces, involving nearly 14,000 troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. The Millennium Challenge also featured some brand new technology, appearing for the first time in simulated battle. Tonight's Tech Live takes you there.

One of the most anticipated pieces of equipment is called the Stryker, an armored troop carrier the Army calls a kind of "smart, battlefield taxi."

For Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth Lethco, the Stryker could have been a lifesaver for him and his men during the Gulf War.

Potential lifesaver

"We'd have lost less combat vehicles, we would have lost less people. Because it's so informative, it's just amazing how much information the battle commander has at his fingertips," Lethco said.

That data comes to the battle commander inside the Stryker from three touch-screen, flat-panel displays. A vision-enhancer lets troops sitting in the rear see what the driver sees upfront; a kind of electronic windshield.

"With the design of all this equipment, it's user friendly, extremely user-friendly," said Lethco.

One screen receives maps, enemy and friendly troop movements, as well as the locations of any equipment on the battlefield. And all the information is coordinated by an on-board, micro-Ethernet hub from Cisco Systems. The data is fed to the vehicle over satellite frequencies.

"It gives the crew and the commander, especially the commander, the maximum amount of information about whatever theater or battlefield he's going on," said Lethco.

High tech firepower

The fire-control unit is linked to powerful cameras, including both daytime and nighttime night-vision lenses. The battle commander can remotely aim and fire 105mm cannons, 40mm guns, even guided-missiles installed on the roof of the vehicle.

"The only thing the commander has to do is put ammo in the can," Lethco said.

Taking a look at the all the Stryker's capabilities, you think this is precisely the technology the Army was always supposed to have. And now it finally does.

"I can never have enough information about where I'm going or what I'm doing," said Lethco.

Troops in the field say they like the Stryker because it can be transported by aircraft to any global hotspot. But detractors point to the fact that only one of the 18-ton machines can fit into a C-130 cargo plane. The much larger C-17 can only transport three Strykers at a time.

The Army, which has set aside $4 billion to buy more than 2,100 of the vehicles over the next several years, says the Stryker is smart enough to insert a light infantry platoon far closer to the action than ever before, and hopefully strong enough to bring them home safely.

This is the first story in our week-long look at advances in military technology. Tomorrow's installment of "Tech Live's" Combat Week is about the mobile war rooms rolling out onto the battlefield.