Marine aviators in Afghanistan turn to iPads
Crews of attack helicopters and aircraft use devices to store navigation information
- By Defense Systems Staff
- Jun 13, 2011
Marine aviators are among the latest addition to the growing ranks of military personnel using mobile devices, reports Philip Ewing at DOD Buzz.
A few squadrons of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing have been using Apple iPads to load, store and view their navigation documents rather than carry paper copies in the cockpits of their close air support helicopters and aircraft.
The impetus for the switch to storing critical navigation data on iPads, which came from the aviators themselves, ran into some initial skepticism from the upper echelons of the Naval Air Systems Command, but eventually the higher ups came around to see it as a wise improvement.