Smartphone to hold integrated warrior gear: Soldiers on the battlefront will soon be able to run complex computerized warrior systems as integrated units on hand-held devices, including smartphones and tablets.
Command-and-control systems for military personnel fighting on land have long bedeviled defense strategists, planners and manufacturers. Many of the pioneering systems were unwieldy, heavy to carry and prone to failure at critical times.
The United States' recent and ongoing engagement in several conflicts has led to demand, mirrored in other armed forces elsewhere, for military gadgetry that is easy to handle, light in weight and brings together systems directed at a soldier in battle from land, air and the sea and requiring rapid response. Within NATO forces, too, competing command and control systems continue to dominate inventories of soldiers -- something that defense leaders want to change.
