Army special operations forces are ditching Android and replacing it with the iPhone for battlefield support.
The U.S. Army will use the iPhone 6S as a platform to help soldiers in combat situations, a source in the Army Special Operations Command told Military.com’s DoD Buzz. The iPhone Tactical Assault Kit (iTAC) will replace the Samsung-based Tactical Assault Kit, which interfaces with Nett Warrior battlefield situational awareness tool for special operations forces.
“Android freezes up,” an unnamed source in Army Special Operations Command told DoD Buzz. When viewing a live-feed from an overhead drone — a key feature of the Nett Warrior system that allows forces on the ground to view the whole battlefield — the Android screen will freeze, fail to refresh, and sometimes have to be restarted.
“It’s seamless on the iPhone,” the source said. “The graphics are clear, unbelievable.”
The Nett Warrior system provides critical information to special forces in combat. “As they sweep up into a house, they don’t have to worry about fratricide, because they can see where the other maneuvering forces are. You can track the location of friendly units as you are moving up on a target,” Jason Regnier, deputy product manager for Nett Warrior told Scout.com earlier this year.
This will not be the first time Apple tech has been used in the battlefield. Snipers use an old version of the iPad on missions, Apple Insider reports.
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