Army plans to test iPhone-like applications for the battlefield

The Army plans to conduct a test later this year of smart phones modeled off Apple's iPhone and Google's recently released Android to provide software to tactical forces on the battlefield, the head of the service's modernization directorate told reporters on Monday.

Maj. Gen Keith Walker, director of the Army's Future Force Integration Directorate at Fort Bliss, Texas, said he plans to test the smart phones this summer with 200 soldiers at Fort Bliss and the adjacent White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where the service has tested new technology.

The experiments are part of Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications, a program that allows troops to harness the power of smart phones on the battlefield.

Background information that the Army's directorate supplied said the digital applications project "is an effort to fundamentally change the way soldiers have access to information, knowledge and training products within the training base, garrison and operational environment."

Smart phones will be distributed to soldiers in the Army Evaluation Task Force at Fort Bliss initially loaded with maintenance and training applications, but Walker also sees a potential for applications tailored to the tactical environment.

The smart phones will run on Army radio networks, not commercial cellular networks, to protect the security of the information, he added.