May 12

iPhone: the latest US Army weapon in iRaq?

It looks like the latest weapon used by the US Army comes from Apple’s notorious gadgets; iPhone and iPod touch.
According to a report pulished in The New Zealand Herald, the iPhone and iPod Touch are used to aid US soliders in iRaq and Afghanistan to assist them get by their daily tasks. This includes apps to translate Arabic to English words, consult the Iraq constitution in full text. In addition, the slicky devices are used to share pictures of wanted suspects via a global database. In a matter of minutes, US soldiers can determine if the chap standing next to them is an average civilian or a threat to US Army unwanted presence.

In addition to over 40,000 apps currently available on iTunes store, some of which are free, the US Marine Corps are funding internal apps for the purpuse of bomb disposal, receivers of ariel footage and biometric database.

Members of the British military are reported to be keen to follow the trend, but Ministry of Defence has no plans at present to provide ressources on this path.