This seems to be one of those cases where diversity of options is really important.
Back to computer science. Seems like the best option for the army (and marines and other military types) here is to have an offshoot from a well established OS. Linux is much more manageable than MS Win, and it is open and free (free from legal battles too, not the least of considerations) and readily available now. Since the US military is not going to sell the offshoot, its proprietary version of Linux would not violate GPL, LGPL and other appropriate agreements. I am not sure they will contribute back to the community though... however, many important pieces might go back, since all the important military logic should properly be contained in the application layer, not in Linux per se. The OS may not even be rewritten for the military applications, just tweaked.
Disclaimer: I do not know what I am talking about. No relation to the US military, no active relation to any other military.
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This seems to be one of those cases where diversity of options is really important.
Back to computer science. Seems like the best option for the army (and marines and other military types) here is to have an offshoot from a well established OS. Linux is much more manageable than MS Win, and it is open and free (free from legal battles too, not the least of considerations) and readily available now. Since the US military is not going to sell the offshoot, its proprietary version of Linux would not violate GPL, LGPL and other appropriate agreements. I am not sure they will contribute back to the community though... however, many important pieces might go back, since all the important military logic should properly be contained in the application layer, not in Linux per se. The OS may not even be rewritten for the military applications, just tweaked.
Disclaimer: I do not know what I am talking about. No relation to the US military, no active relation to any other military.