Soldier Spends Own Money to Develop Military iPhone App

by Terrence O'Brien on January 26, 2011 at 08:30 AM

Captain Jonathan J. Springer reached into his own pockets to produce the $26,000 needed to develop a new iPhone app, one specifically designed for American soldiers battling the Taliban. The 31-year-old soldier worked with programmers to bring his idea of a navigation and targeting app to life. The result, called 'Tactical Nav,' should soon be available in the iTunes App Store for $0.99. The app allows soldiers to snap photos of waypoints, and plot them on a map. These reference photos and coordinates can then be sent to other units to coordinate attacks and artillery fire. The app can be used not only to direct artillery, but also to call in helicopter support.

Captain Springer has been testing his app in various situations and with several different types of vehicles and posts in order to ensure it's ready for combat. The officer told the Herald Sun that most soldiers have smartphones on the battlefield, but the capabilities of those devices are not being fully utilized. The military is looking into using smartphones for battle, but Captain Springer decided to jumpstart that effort by taking matters into his own hands. The app is currently awaiting approval from Apple, but, once it's approved, Captain Springer may start work on an iPad edition. Looks like Android device-toting soldiers will be left out in the cold.

Tags: AfghanistanWar, apps, army, ios, iphone, military, TacticalNav, taliban, top

source: Herald Sun

Comments

AndyinIndyJan 26th 2011 8:48AM

Neutral

I thought most of the military focus was on Android because it was easier to modify the apps and sytem to their specific needs. Besides, there are civilian programs that do this cross platform (iPhone, Android, etc) like www.battletac.com

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g67earlyJan 26th 2011 10:50AM

Neutral

@AndyinIndy that's funny so all he had to do is purchase the already developed app Battletac with the $26,000 for his soldiers and not have to wait for Apple to approve his app.

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John MunroJan 26th 2011 12:27PM

Neutral

So all the enemy needs to do is jam 3G?

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pnichyporJan 27th 2011 6:20PM

Low Ranked

What the hell is an APP? Is this a shortened version of APPLICATION? Also, what the hell is FREE? I think I may want some of this FREE. I notice that there are dozens of ads. for business services and products that will only allow you to use FREE to partake. Just this afternoon I watched a TV commercial that proclaimed that those who wanted to use the service offered, could do so "FOR FREE"... It didn't say how much "FREE" to bring with me. I'm not sure where I can get ahold of some of this new"FREE". Do you put it in you wallet along with your money? I think I'll carry mine in a box or a paper bag as I'm not certain how large or small this "FREE" is. After all, a lot more commercials are saying "FOR FREE". Could they be trying to tell us that it is "FREE OF CHARGE"? No, if that was the case, they wouldn't suggest bringing some "FREE" with you...

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dveloperzJan 26th 2011 9:44PM

Neutral

Now! Does China have that?! Well, they will soon.

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D. SligarFeb 3rd 2011 12:55PM

Neutral

Quite frankly I'm surprised that a Captain would assume the US military would allow soldiers to carry cell phones into a battlefield. For starters, there's the security issue of said cellular devices broadcasting their location, couple that with a "smart" device that transmits its actual GPS location adn you have a means for the enemy to know EXACTLY where you're at. Secondly, you don't want your soldiers carrying the kind of psychological baggage along with them when their out on a troop movement, less worrying about making phone calls or what's on the Internet and more on their mission. Next big problem is cellular coverage. Most missions tend to be in third-world countries where there is little to no cellular coverage and if they have to communicate further than their long-range comm can reach, they would need a satellite phone to do so, even then it would be encrypted before leaving its location.

Don't get me wrong, it's a very good idea though it's something should have been developed for a different device.

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