Land Warrior war-smartphone tech support goes to Afghanistan The Land Warrior wearable military smartphone rig - one of the few of its type to have seen combat service in large numbers - continues to rise from its ashes, having been officially cancelled in 2007. However, the kit is now in service in Afghanistan, and makers General Dynamics have just announced a $50m tech-support deal from …
Seems as though it's an example of procurement that's more or less worked; not in the way originally intended, sure, but it's worked. Hope it carries on working and keeps 'em safer as a result. Now, can we get this article printed onto a concrete slab and beat the MoD over the head with it, please?
Sure, if someone had asked them if they wanted to see round corners, they'd say "hell yeah". Of course you can't hit sod all like that, but at least it's useful for seeing who's out there without risking yourself. A camera on a stick would actually have been more useful, but never mind.
The big problem is adding 15lbs to a soldier's pack. That was stupid. Unless the kit is a magic force field, no-one's going to want to add another 15lbs to a pack that's already at least 40lbs. It's difficult to believe that anyone would fail to notice that.
Not a bad system, until a unit falls in to the enemy's hands.
Then they can see your troops and send text messages to screw with you.
Of course I'm also going to assume that central control could take a specific unit out of the network and shut it down so it won't work until reactivated by a tech.
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