The US Army is planning to issue every soldier an iPhone or an Android cellphone which will provide critical information to soldiers whenever they need it and revolutionise battlefield tactics.
Under an army programme, entitled connecting soldiers to digital applications (CSDA), the army plans to begin fielding phones, network equipment and applications to the first army brigade in February.
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Future Force Integration Directorate director of mission command Mike McCarthy said the army was looking at devices ranging from iPads to Kindles.
“What we’re doing is fundamentally changing how soldiers access knowledge, information, training content and operational data,” he said.
The smartphones will let soldiers view real-time intelligence and video from unmanned systems overhead, and track friends and enemies on a dynamic map.
The army is planning to roll out the wireless common access card readers for the iPhone in January 2011 and for Android phones in April, according to USA Today.
