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Singapore to hand out iPads to its soldiers
The Defence Ministry of Singapore said on Monday that it will be issuing 8,000 iPads to new recruits this year. Armed with the iPad, new soldiers will be able to snap photos and videos of the battlefield, which can be uploaded to a central database. They can also communicate with officers and other soldiers via messaging. The Singapore Armed Forces wants to expand the iPad's capabilities and is working with private contractors to create secure apps for military use. The iPad program begins this year with new recruits and will extend to other soldiers next year. This is not the first example of military units using the iPad and other iOS devices. US Marine Corp aviators recently replaced their paper-based navigation system with one driven by the iPad, and the Army is working on its own secure App Store. In the UK, soldiers are using the iPad to train for combat before their deployment for Afghanistan. The Army App Store is work in progress, while the USMC and UK programs are considered an early success by their respective military leaders.
