Technomaly

Proving once again that there’s nothing they won’t try to turn into a killing machine, the US Military is the world’s biggest buyer of: Bulletflight, a program that helps snipers calculate their shots within seconds.

Seen here with a $175 dollar iPhone mount, the program was developed by Knight’s Armament, a defense contractors in Florida that also sells the military sniper rifles. It calculates for impact energy, velocity, flight time, bullet spin and even factors in the Corolis effect. Sure, it sounds extreme to me to calculate in the earth’s rotation when shooting a gun, but for $29.95, why the heck not? Might as well throw in an animation of a guy’s head exploding too – c’mon, this is good taxpayer money being paid out here.

Of course, if the little guy’s making money, the big guys won’t be far behind. Enter: Raytheon, the gigantic global defense contractor, who just announced its own suite of military iPhone apps. Their first release is dubbed “One Force Tracker,” which Raytheon’ is calling a “situational awareness application.” It’s designed to give soldiers in the field a real-time map of friendly positions and suspected insurgent positions. It also allows for secure communication between One Force Tracker users, and can call in police, firemen or medics at the touch of a button. Looks like every annoying hipster’s favorite toy now has a practical application!

Sources: The Journal of New England Technology, BulletFlight Website, Raytheon Website

Photo Sources: BulletFlight Website, NY Times Website