US Soldier Makes App That Tracks Down Taliban Fighters

After US army captain Jonathan Springer saw two of his comrades were killed in a rocket attack, he started thinking, what could he have done to prevent something similar from happening in the future? His answer was to create an app called Tactical Nav, which soldiers can download to their smartphones. He claims it’s just as accurate as any technology created for the same purpose but a whole lot cheaper too.

The app apparently makes use of a compass, map and the phone’s camera in order to give the soldier exact coordinates of where the enemy fire is coming from. The information gathered can then be sent back to the command center, who will then decide what the appropriate course of action is, whether to call in an air strike or send in a helicopter to evacuate wounded soldiers.

The app was created with Captain Jonathan Springer’s own money and has cost more than $30,000 in development, which is why he has put the app up for sale in the iTunes App Store to recoup his losses. We’re not sure what use this app would have in our day-to-day lives, perhaps calling in coordinates during paintball fights? That ought to make paintball a whole lot more fun than it already is.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, Military
Tags: Apps, army, GPS, Smartphones