What Army leaders want out of future battlefield systems is a stable hardware enabled by powerful software that makes it easy to upgrade, integrate accessories and accomplish their tasks.
By General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.WASHINGTON: Hey! Take off that Fitbit and turn it off. Hand in that Apple Watch. Make sure you’ve turned off the geolocation capabilities of your Garmin. That was the word today from Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. For years, cell phones have been banned from many offices in the Pentagon, not to mention any Secure…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: Building seamless ties between US and allied forces is a dream long held and oft delayed. Allowing a friendly foreign commander to call in pinpoint US airstrikes simply, reliably and quickly with a phone is exactly the kind of military miracle science fiction and military visionaries have dreamt of since at least the late…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: Marines, turn off your iPhone and dig yourself a foxhole. That’s the Commandant’s message to young troops, based on embarrassing experiences in recent exercises. As cheap drones and other surveillance technologies spread worldwide, said Gen. Robert Neller, US forces must re-learn how to hide — both physically and electronically — from increasingly tech-savvy adversaries. “We’ve…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: The cheerfully controversial James “Hoss” Cartwright, retired vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke Friday in an intimate and academic setting that allowed the retired Marine Corps fighter pilot to muse aloud about subjects from the Civil War to quantum computing, from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (he’s a skeptic) to aircraft carriers…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The National Security Agency is launching a mobile device capability at the end of this year that will allow its personnel to securely access classified information with their smartphones and tablet computers. The program, which is a joint effort with the Defense Information Systems Agency, could potentially provide the military services with similar secure information…
By Henry KenyonTop military officials are finally getting a chance to see first hand how tablet computers and smartphones other than their trusted BlackBerrys might work in the line of duty. As part of previously undisclosed program, 200 mobile devices – including iPads, iPhones, Samsung Galaxy tablets and smartphones – have been issued to senior military personnel:…
By Henry Kenyon