It’s not enough to know how to shoot a gun and shine shoes – now, the US Army is writing Android apps for use in combat. Not on your bogstandard Motorola phone obviously – these apps will be used on the army and marine’s special new Android phone that will be given to troops come 2013.
The Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) phones might not be strapped to soldiers’ belts for another couple of years, but the dev kit used to write the apps is being released this July. That means anyone can write apps for the army and marines – soldiers, developers or even you. But “like when you get an iPhone and you have the Apple-made apps: the contacts, the email,” says J Tyler Barton, an app engineer at the army, there will be a ready-made stock of apps primed for use already – maps, messaging and even an app to help avoid friendly fire. [The Reg]
Image credit: Fort Benning