Military looks to make upgrade
Smartphone tech being considered
One of the country’s top military companies wants to convince the Canadian Army that putting smartphones on the battlefield is the way of the future.
The army is hoping to improve communications between troops through a $ 300- million initiative, the Integrated Soldier System Project.
The ISSP would provide equipment not only to allow troops to track each other as they move on the battlefield, but feed communications and targeting information into their helmets or data devices.
The Conservative government will soon unveil the winner of the first $ 7- million phase of ISSP, part of its defence- related announcements in the run- up to the federal election. The other ISSP phases are still years away.
Officials with General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada, which has facilities in Ottawa and Calgary, say the firm is already at the level of technology ISSP hopes to introduce in the future.
Instead of cumbersome and expensive military radios and other data devices, General Dynamics is using smartphone technology. It has produced militarized versions of the civilian devices and the support system needed for them.
“You can pump videos to it, you can take pictures, transmit those pictures, chat, all those types of things you do on your smartphone, but now it’s on the battlefield,” said Rick Fawcett, the company’s director of business development in Ottawa.
It has also successfully linked smartphones to existing military radio equipment.
Insurgents in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq have used cellphones during combat. But western militaries have shied away from such technology because it can be jammed and relies on civilian networks.
To deal with those problems, General Dynamics is working on a portable cell network for militaries, as well as systems that can’t be jammed, Fawcett said.
Colt Canada, in co- operation with General Dynamics, also has integrated smartphones and other information sources with its rifles and grenade launchers.
The Kitchener, Ont.- based Colt has linked a small drone to its weapons, allowing soldiers with smartphones not only to see what their colleagues are seeing on the battlefield, but also what the cameras on the pilotless aircraft are monitoring.
Colt’s technology includes a global positioning system and navigation capability, so the rifle’s geographic position and pointing angles are known and communicated to other soldiers.
“We’re taking the rifle from being a Spitfire to being a CF- 18 fighter,” said Warren Downing of Colt Canada.
The U. S. Marines have bought systems from Colt, while other U. S. government agencies and special forces units have attended demonstrations of the equipment.
The advantages of smartphone technology are evident, Fawcett said. The devices are readily available; with the protection of a $ 49 hardened case, off- the- shelf technology can be made ready for rough handling. There is no need for extensive training as troops, just like almost everyone else, know how to use smartphones.
Then there is the technology support. “There was a day when military research led communications but those days are long gone,” Fawcett said. “Look at what Samsung or Apple invest in their devices. No military can match that type of investment.”
General Dynamics decided against bidding on the first phase of the ISSP, using the $ 1 million that would have been spent on bidding for research.
“Our strategy is to show the army that we are beyond today what the ISSP project hopes to do in the future,” Fawcett said.
The company will focus on ways of preventing smartphones from being jammed and improve interfaces with older army radio technology still in use. Another project is a portable military cell network that can be set up in remote areas.
The U. S. military is pushing ahead with a program to use smart phones on the battlefield. Britain is also looking at a similar concept.
Fawcett believes the drive for change in Canada will come from the army itself.
“When you talk to soldiers, they don’t understand why a hand- held radio has to weigh five pounds,” he said.
Look at what Samsung or Apple invest in their devices. No military can match that type of investment.