Troops to use iPad for Afghanistan operations

British troops set to deploy to Afghanistan are making use of specially-adapted iPads, it has been reported.

The soldiers will be using the Apple technology to boost their artillery skills, the BBC reports.

Following on from initial successful trials, soldiers training at the Royal School of Artillery are now learning how to handle fire missions through a new application on the iPad.

And, according to the troops themselves, the new technology is not only making learning easier but also more enjoyable, with pupils able to take the devices back to their blocks and test their skills against one another in mini accuracy competitions.

“It makes it more fun instead of being sat in a classroom looking at a presentation being given information,” Lance Bombardier Jason Markham from 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, told the broadcaster.

In addition, the military top brass are confident that, by making use of such innovations, it should be possible to shorten training times and get troops to the frontline quicker.

This comes after This is Staffordshire reported more than 600 troops from the Third Battalion (Staffords) Mercian Regiment are currently training in Canada before deployment to Afghanistan next year.

Posted by Trevor Smith