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    iPads for the US Air Force? 18,000 may soon be purchased

    By Trevor Mogg | Digital Trends – Fri, Feb 10, 2012

    When it comes to purchasing equipment, most military machines around the world will spend their time leafing through catalogs packed with bullets and bombs. The US Air Force (USAF), however, is also taking a close look at something else—Apple’s iPad.

    According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, the Air Mobility Command (AMC) component of the USAF is considering purchasing as many as 18,000 of the tablets. The AMC is responsible for transporting troops, supplies, and equipment around the world. The tablets would be used to take the place of paper manuals used by pilots and flight crews.

    The information came from a notice on a government procurement website and mentioned the iPad by name. However, the notice also stated that the USAF would consider similar devices, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab or Research In Motion’s PlayBook.

    The notice went up on the government’s Federal Business Opportunities website earlier this month though has only recently been picked up by news services. The notice states that the government is looking to purchase “a minimum of 63 and a maximum of 18,000” tablets. It’s not clear why the range is so broad though it suggests they still have a fair bit of research to carry out before arriving at a final figure.

    The Nextgov website said the purchase “is potentially the largest single federal order for the tablet computer,” though adds that up to now sales to the government have been low “due to security concerns.”

    Speaking to Bloomberg, AMC spokesperson Captain Kathleen Ferrero said the the plan was to lighten the load carried by the aircraft, with paper charts and manuals currently used on planes weighing as much as 40 pounds.

    She also pointed out that many major carriers were already in the process of switching to tablets, referring to the likes of American Airlines and United Airlines.

    Up to now, airlines that have made the switch to so-called electronic flight bags are using Apple’s iPad as opposed to any other tablets on the market.

    PlayBook maker Research In Motion would dearly love to secure such a contract with the government, though the recent trend appears to show many companies and government agencies moving away from RIM devices and switching to Apple products and those powered by Google’s Android mobile OS. This week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it would be giving out iPhones and iPads to some of its employees, replacing currently used BlackBerry devices.

    This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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    44 comments

    • Anthony
      Anthony  •  3 mths ago
      USAF Staff Sergeant aircraft maintenance guy here- We would hate the iPad... no removable battery, fragile, and cannot multitask. We currently use a laptop built for harsh environments (drop-resistant, waterproof, etc) which work pretty well for their application of working outdoors. It has a removable battery so you can swap it out rather than get an entire new unit out. And, it's extremely versatile because of its windows platform. If the USAF buys iPads, it will only reduce our mission capable rate and cause needless aggravation.
      • Stef
        Stef 3 mths ago
        You're out of your mind. Toughbooks and Getacs are ridiculously stupid when needing to open multiple pages to look at schematics. Not to mention all the screws that have to either be RTV'd, tightened, accounted for everytime it's checked in and out. They have made life hell looking through a 7" screen.

        Also, the article said the USAF is looking at Galaxy tablets, not IPads.
      • B
        B 3 mths ago
        And they can multi task....just not on the same screen like ur used to using.
    • Slayer
      Slayer  •  Southfield, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      Seems fitting seeing how the government over pays for everything.
      • Anthony
        Anthony 3 mths ago
        Our government is so hipster, they were spending too much for inferior products before it was cool.
    • Clark
      Clark  •  3 mths ago
      Are you kidding me?! The Air Force is cutting people left and right, turning families upside down because the DOD doesn't have money, yet somehow they magically found money for this garbage?!
      • Rachelle
        Rachelle 3 mths ago
        Don't forget about the Navy. They just sent 3,000 sailors packing, yet we have money for ICrap!
    • A Yahoo! User  •  3 mths ago
      So we say China is an enemy in cyberwarfare, but hey, let's let them build our military's Internet accessing technology designed by a company that (some say) would murder everyone on earth just to watch them die.
    • NSWG-ST6
      NSWG-ST6  •  3 mths ago
      So, are these iPads going to be the $8,200 ones that the gov. buys?
    • Sifu Jian
      Sifu Jian  •  Santa Clara, California  •  3 mths ago
      They should buy a product made in the USA not made by Chinese slave labor!!!!
      • M
        M 3 mths ago
        Oh? and what product would that be???
    • None
      None  •  San Diego, California  •  3 mths ago
      Are we really willing to throw security into the wind?
    • Dracula Dracula
      Dracula Dracula  •  3 mths ago
      iPads for the US Air Force? 18,000 may soon be purchased...for playing games and surfing the net. Our tax dollars at work.
    • Rick S
      Rick S  •  3 mths ago
      So the government, (us taxpayers), are buying these, I'd guess around $2000 each at the normal government rates.
    • Rachelle
      Rachelle  •  Columbia, South Carolina  •  3 mths ago
      More taxpayer dollars down the drain.
    • uberales
      uberales  •  Foley, Alabama  •  3 mths ago
      nothing else for the chair force to do but stare at screens and park their cars,what a waste of money
    • R.T. Arcand
      R.T. Arcand  •  Minneapolis, Minnesota  •  3 mths ago
      China will have those baby's bugged, and our commie sell out government that made the deaths of those who fought in Korea and Viertnam into an insult, can't sign on fast enough. I wish the real vets would form a militia to fight this evil.
    • wow
      wow  •  3 mths ago
      what for?
    • Drape
      Drape  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      If you are going to waste taxpayers money, how about you purchase something more durable and with more capabilities than iPads for much less money?
    • Mike
      Mike  •  3 mths ago
      oooh... ooooh... and they really really want the matching ipod touch & that skin that reminds them of how much of all they are be-ing... When reached for comment, the air force released a statement representing themselves collectively. "pleeeeaaaasssseeee Uncle sam... those are like so totally cool, and, and... we love you." said the air force.
    • Drape
      Drape  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      The iPads are not rugged at all. POS breaks too easily. Buy some rugged tablets instead.
    • Peeping Tom
      Peeping Tom  •  3 mths ago
      War porn!
    • Creativeminds
      Creativeminds  •  3 mths ago
      This is smart because the Air Force manuals are hundreds to thousands of pages long. The cost of printing the manual overwhelms the cost of the iPad. In the long run, iPads will save paper and ink. The cost of Ink from color printers are insane. Getting rid of ink entirely could save the government a huge chunk of money. That is after five years or more.
      • Anthony
        Anthony 3 mths ago
        you can drop a paper TO a hundred times before it needs to be replaced.
    • tony
      tony  •  Norfolk, Virginia  •  3 mths ago
      wow i wish i could afford an ipad.... oh well... i guess i better continue paying my taxes. another huge expense. it does not matter who is president... they all seem to mismanage the tax payers money. sad
    • Bill
      Bill  •  3 mths ago
      The good thing about a paper manual is it does not get changed daily, another waste of money. These tablets will be used for everything else but manuals.
     Post a comment
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