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Smartphones could come to the battlefield

Cell phones and other hand-held computers with built-in GPS, compass, camera, Web access, streaming video, touch screen, multiple gigabytes of memory and a ton of applications could be headed to the battlefield.

A cell phone application specially designed for use in combat is one of the latest innovations from Raytheon, which also makes missiles, radars, sensors and blimps. The app goes by the name RATS, for Raytheon Android Tactical System, and the company hopes to begin selling devices that include the application, or the application by itself, to the military this year.

War-zone use of hand-held technology designed for military operations is growing. The Air Force has bought thousands of Apple’s iPod Touch and iPhones; their foreign language apps help linguists keep current on their skills at home or in theater, said Frank Von Heiland, senior language authority at the Air Force Intelligence Agency. And C-130 crews use iPods during cockpit training.

Here are some capabilities being designed for the battlefield:

* Situational awareness. RATS is intended to offer provide better situational awareness, said Mark Bigham, vice president for business development at Raytheon’s Intelligence and Information Systems division. It uses mapping software and a buddy list to provide “buddy tracking,” keeping track of 10 to 20 airmen at a time, he said. The cell phone or other device reports an airman’s location, which is plotted on a map.

Unmanned aerial vehicles can be designated as buddies. You can receive a video feed, then touch an icon on the screen to see what’s on the UAV’s sensors.

* Photo ops. While on patrol or manning a checkpoint with RATS, “you can stop a bad guy and take his picture,” Bigham said. The phone records the time and location, and then transmits the picture to a command post, where the commanders can determine whether the suspect should be arrested. One application being developed for Apple devices would transmit photos, biometric data and written reports on suspects to a central database.

* Networking. Secure networks can be created using previously incompatible communications gear, said David Kahn, chief executive of Covia Labs. With Covia’s software, cell phones can communicate with laptops or security cameras and other sensors or weapons systems. It is designed for PCs, servers and mobile devices, including those with Android operating systems.

Among functions that can be valuable: blue-force tracking and taking pictures with one phone to share with many others.

* Security. RATS comes with built-in encryption to keep transmissions from being accessed. The phones can be remotely disabled — or used to distribute disinformation — if they are lost or stolen, Bigham said.

* ‘Every soldier a sensor.’ At about $300 apiece, the cell phones are cheap compared to military radios, which can cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars apiece, Bingham said. Because of the low cost, the military can afford to get information to a lot more people, Bigham said.