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Stryker brigade soldiers will deploy to Iraq next year with a wearable computer designed to cut through the fog of war.

The 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division — the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team — recently completed a successful test of the Land Warrior system at Fort Lewis, Wash., which clears the way for the unit to take the high-tech ensemble of digital communications and navigation equipment with them on their scheduled deployment to Iraq next summer, said Lt. Col. Bill Prior, battalion commander, in a recent press release.

Soldiers wearing Land Warrior have a miniaturized radio at their fingertips for sending and receiving voice communications and text messages; a helmet-mounted display with a built-in computer screen for viewing digital maps, reading text messages and target identification; and weapons optics for engaging the enemy day and night.

All of Land Warrior’s components are wired to a small computer processor through a series of robust cables. When used together, Army officials say, these systems will give soldiers an unmatchable edge in battle.

The way it looks now, soldiers from team leader and above will wear the Land Warrior system, program officials said. Testing has shown that not every soldier needs access to the system’s wide range of visual information, said Lt. Col. Brian Cummings, product manager for Land Warrior.

“The Army is looking at how to provide a [Land Warrior] radio to every soldier,” Cummings said, so every individual will have access to the system’s audible information flow.

In January, 4-9 will receive an upgraded version of Land Warrior that features improved voice communications, streamlined headsets that are more like ear buds than headphones, and tiny keyboards — similar in size to those on Blackberries — for faster text messaging.

The unit’s decision to deploy with Land Warrior runs parallel to the Army’s continued development of the system, said Col. Richard Hansen, project manager for Land Warrior in a recent interview.

Army officials are hoping to go into low-rate production in March and begin operational tests in January 2008, Hanson said. Another unit will be selected to participate in the operational tests with Land Warrior, which are scheduled to take about four months.

If all goes well, the goal will be to go into full-rate production and “do the best we can to equip a brigade” by late 2008, Cummings said.

The Army is now in its third major contract award since 1996, having invested about $500 million so far in the high-tech endeavor. But the success ground commanders have experienced using digitized warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with improvements in technology, have boosted the program’s momentum, officials said.

Once viewed as twitchy and undependable, Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below, the Army’s tactical Internet, has matured into a proven tool for orchestrating formations of men and machines.

The system has made a significant leap in reliability since the program’s third contract award in 2003 to General Dynamics for about $250 million, Hansen said.

The long-term goal is to refine Land Warrior over time so it meets the needs of the operational Army. In the short-term, equipment officials want to field Land Warrior to all seven Stryker brigades — a $399 million effort, Hansen said. Currently, the Army has only $170 million set aside to equip three Stryker brigades.

Land Warrior is not in its final form, but Hansen said he believes the benefits to the soldier outweigh the risks of sending the system into combat with 4-9. “We don’t make these decisions lightly,” he said, describing how program officials will continue to ensure Land Warrior performs the way 4-9 needs it to during their deployment.