Life imitates FP cover art

We thought the cover image of our March/April “War Issue” — an iPhone loaded with apps like “instaCOIN”and “DroneWar” —  was a joke, but it turns out not to be that far-fetched. Danger Room’s Nathan Hodge reports:

In a discussion yesterday with reporters, Maj. Gen. Keith Walker, director of the Army’s Future Force Integration Directorate at Fort Bliss, Texas, said that around 200 soldiers would receive an “iPhone-like device” with digital apps installed.

Walker said the devices would have “various apps for system maintenance, instruction manuals — that we can all remotely upgrade. Also, we’re working to allow soldiers to have a distributed way of getting feedback to us on the equipment, where they can do Wikipedia-style upgrades to tactics, techniques and procedures, and comments on performance of hardware and software.”

Further down the road, Walker said he could envision tactical applications, like an app with GPS capability that could pinpoint the user’s location, or a digital tool that would allow troops to analyze terrain.

We had a good time coming up with the apps for our phone, so Walker is welcome to get in touch if the army needs ideas.