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US Army Considers a Smartphone For Every Soldier
destinyland writes "The US Army is seriously considering the idea of issuing a smartphone to every soldier, and they're already modernizing one Texas brigade 'through a range of electronic devices that will include not just smartphones but tablet devices, e-reader and mini-projectors.' The company that developed Patriot missiles has already created several dedicated military apps for both iPhone and Android phones, including one that allows soldiers to track colleague's locations on the battlefield. Interestingly, the army is likely to use an off-the-shelf model, heightening the war between Apple and Android phones. Apple's non-replaceable batteries may become an issue in the field, since 'plugging the phone in to recharge isn't always a viable option in the middle of combat.'"
I gotta get back to ya later Mom - I'm kinda engaged right now.
Didn't they just ban all portable mass storage devices as security risks? I mean what do they think these smart phones are?
I haven't seen much consumer electronics equipment that could survive a combat environment. Seems like just the sand alone in Iraq would mess up a lot of devices pretty quick.
And that's the thing -- it's all well and good to say that a certain piece of equipment will give soldiers some kind of advantage, but after a while the "advantage" becomes the norm. What happens then, when a piece of equipment that a soldier has come to rely upon just stops working? Do they carry on like before they had the equipment, or does what was once an advantage become a disadvantage, as the soldiers have to essentially retrain themselves on the fly?
Batteries, cracked screens, fouled-up input devices, software bugs... there's a reason why equipment designed for the military costs so much more than consumer equipment..
Breakfast served all day!
Upload to Wikileaks, is there an app for that?
not on the main app store.
I wonder how much other Chinese electronics it'll be a good idea to use on the battlefield.
User space apps by DARPA. Rootkit by the the PLA.
I'd rather have a Smartsoldier for Every Phone
== With enough Will Power, one could move mountains. With enough Brains, one would just leave them where they are ==
Don't you just hate it when you're driving down the street, guy is driving a heavy tank while talking to his girlfriend?
So, you're going to put a comm device on every soldier that emits RF much of the time?
You better seed the whole place with decoy receiver transmitters or relay devices.
Else a military with any level of technical sophistication will use it to target and trigger munitions.
(I had a similar idea when I was in the Army still in the 80s. But it involved specifically putting out more decoys to act as relays than there were soldiers/real radios. Some of them moving, so that wouldn't be a way to decide which was real. Wasn't very practical at the time due to limits on the computing power available.)
I gotta get back to ya later Mom - I'm kinda engaged right now.
What if I told you me and 10+ other guys saw 'AFK: Real War' from an actual soldier in Afghanistan playing a war simulation at that time?
(not naming any names including game)
Mrs Smith has changed her relationship status to Single.
conservatives should be all over cutting frivolous defense spending like this.
There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My iPhone is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my iPhone is useless. Without my iPhone, I am useless. I must text my iPhone true. I must text faster than my mother, who is trying to block me. I must text my friends before she grounds me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my iPhone and myself are defenders of my social life, we are the masters of our parents, we are the saviors of my social life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.
I didn't intend that to be that creepy when I started it, but I think that describes 90% of high school and college students I've interacted with.
"including one that allows soldiers to track colleague's locations on the battlefield."
Now, lets say I am a soldier that has just been killed. My device does not know this, but the opposing force does. They pickup my phone, start running through a list of who is on the battlefield, and designate where their snipers need to aim.
Alternatively, opposing force finds device, and now appears on the location system as the soldier. This could be a bit of an issue if they send a message via it for everyone to regroup... or medical evac. I can imagine a well booby trapped body for that.
My point being: convenience is very nice, but deactivating it on death is vital. This is not something you'll get off-the-shelf, but can be as simple as a plugin heart monitor with password reset in the event of no pulse.
That is exactly why whoever wins the contract NEEDS to bring back the manufacturing to America. Considering that Apple has not done manufacturing in decades and never on this scale, then it would make sense for Motorola win.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
After all, it's the most widely-used smartphone in the Federal government because of it's solid security. Oh and the battery is easily replaced as well.