Snipers in Afghanistan Use iPhone to Kill Taliban

[team star pug]

I thought It ment that they put the iphone in a room with a window and kill the distracted enemies. that wouldbe a preety good scene in a movie.

but then i clicked on it

 

[Napalm_Man]

What level do you get that in Call of Duty MW2?

 

[Normalgamer]

App for everything now-a-days I suppose.

 

[QuidProQuo]

Taliban Killing. There's an app for that.

 

[DoW Lowen]

What ISN'T there an App for?

The iPhone has officially replaced Batman's utility belt in terms of practical use.

 

[beddo]

Apple should sue the military for violation of the EULA. The EULA clearly states that the soft must not be used in a criminal manner, if any civilian is shot then this would be a war crime.

This is just despicable, what are the US even doing in Afghanistan anymore other than trying to draw attention away for their original motivation of an ill conceived revenge attack.

 

[KaiRai]

This is pretty old news isn't it Funk?

Still cool though, Apple is helping in the war on terror. What do you think of THAT Microsoft? Eh?

50 quid says Microsoft come up with a heartbeat sensor!!!

 

[The Fork of Truth]

So Apple's become a PMC? Interesting.

"I'm a Mac. I'm fully automatic and I have armour-piercing rounds."

"I'm a PC and I, err..I...I've got a new...operating system out..."

 

[CuddlyCombine]

BulletFlight, is one of many apps officially endorsed...

Extra comma. Shame, shame.

BulletFlight can be downloaded by anybody for just $19, though if...

The Mirror says 19 pounds. That's closer to $30. Remember, USD isn't the only currency (granted, there's also some 'L1' version in the store for $13, so who knows what's going on).

I wish you journalists/writers weren't so easy everytime someone felt like pulling a fast one for some free publicity.

The last one I read was that the NSA was using a cluster of PS3s to crack codes or cipher through some bandwidth or whatever, which is just as obviously bullshit. Sony for one has been pulling that stunt for the longest time now, and it's sad that the military and defence establishments don't have more sense than to whore themselves out like that.

Wait, what? U.S. Army-affiliated elements are using a smartphone to wage war. Are we supposed to ignore that, instead turning to our anarcho-activist beliefs and defying the system? I'd dispute your claim that this is bullshit, seeing how major news sources have identified it as true (and the Brit press is generally a lot more reputable than what the Yanks have).

There's a reason why snipers prefer bolt-action rifles - And that is because they're precise and RELIABLE due to their simplicity. Snipers are trained to never take any chance on anything within their control. You give a 3 year old an iPhone and it's gonna be broken within 2 hours tops, which means you basically don't want to take it into a warzone in any way, shape or form, since it is very much fallible. It's a great phone, but you don't want your effectiveness/life depending on it.

If you're in a situation where your spotter has been incapacitated and your last resort is a phone, why not use it? If it can replicate the results of a much-costlier product, I can see why a PMC would use it; I mean, $30 is a lot less than $300, especially when you factor in the failing budget most companies have.

Add to that the fact that you already have all sorts of purpose-built trajectory calculators widely available, as well as the fact that most experienced snipers just do the maths in their heads, and make sure their rifles are zeroed before ever firing a shot in anger (It's only in computer games that you ever go outside the zero) and you have yourself one bullshit story.

If you a know a sniper who needs nothing but a mil-dot reticle to make a kill at long range, he's probably the next Einstein. There's a reason snipers move in pairs; because the spotter needs concentration to do calculations, while the shooter needs the same to make a kill.

Fair enough, it's funny if you don't know any better, and I should shrug it off instead of grumping about it, but you just take the bait every damn time, and you're really just providing these companies with free advertising based on stories that are misleading at best. The least you could do is charge them for it. Aren't you supposed to fact check this stuff?

Again, it's factual. I don't see what more you can ask for. Oh, and I apologize if you're Hathcock come back from the dead, because I can't dispute practice with theory; however, I'd be pretty disappointed if all the things I ever learned were twisted impossibilities created by the mass media.

 

[sunpop]

Shooting a terrorist 15miles away who has a small child hostage and is threatening to detonate a bomb in a bus full of people. Yeah there's an app for that

 

[Gunner 51]

What's wrong with notches on the end of your gun?
"Never depend upon high tech when there's a simpler solution at hand" - Tracer Tong.

 

[Hiroshi Mishima]

I'm waiting for the app that allows me to earn a living just sitting around my house using the computer like I do everyday.

Actually, I'd prefer an app that allows me to figure out how the hell to get a job because I'm either doing something wrong or California just doesn't have jobs left anymore. Although given what I've read/heard, the latter could very well be true.

 

[Gir1yG4m3r]

Wow....that's kinda scary and cool at the same time.

 

[Captain Schpack]

Find a restaurant?
There's an app for that

Pass the time?
There's an app for that

Kill Taliban insurgents?
There's an app for that

 

[sabercrusader]

This is pretty old news isn't it Funk?

Still cool though, Apple is helping in the war on terror. What do you think of THAT Microsoft? Eh?

well that is good and yes i am happy that apple is helping on the war against terror but that still dosent make up for the fact that they make you pay 100-150 dollars for a fancy mp3 player(ipod) or fancy phone(iphone 300-400 dollars)

 

[DeSpiritusBellum]

Snip

Basically your entire argument is that it's true because it passed through a journalist (from Britain) and the US Army has chosen to endorse the product. You don't think that's being just a little zealous? It's not like the Pentagon has impressed anyone with its actual value in terms of oversight and control of army affairs at any time during its lifespan. It's about as welloiled a machine as a Warsaw Pact state.

The only way I can counter your belief in journalists and army pressmongers is by telling you to read up on what you're talking about, so you actually have the possibility of judging those facts in light of actual knowledge.

I'm not gonna go into a tirade about all the books I've read, all the manuals I've dragged myself through on this very subject, because proving yourself on the internet is a bit like showing off your special olympics medal, or telling people you're a fighter pilot. It never really turns out the way you thought it would, and it just makes you look retarded.

Basically, all I can tell you based on my studies is that the story is certifiably inaccurate at best, if not flat wrong. You're right in that there's no reason why you wouldn't use a cellphone if all else fails - But that's a very (short of completely) redundant hypothesis, as all sniper gear, most sniper weapons systems and all modern sniper tactics are solidly founded in the fact that they as well as their gear cannot fail, under any circumstance. They're supposed to be the joker on the battlefield, the guys who do not fail when you need a task performed.

These are highly professional people doing a very highly specialized craft. They aren't bumbling idiots who go around losing gear or jumping to duct tape and string solutions. I'd argue that snipers are some of the most boring, cautious people on the planet, and certainly in any modern army. Perhaps only outdone by quartermasters.

Also, I wouldn't be arsed to make a profile on the Escapist and engage in an internet forum if I wasn't sure of the blatant inaccuracy of that post. I don't enjoy being the angry guy, but it's just a false gimmick of a story, as well as advertising posing as journalism.

 

[Megacherv]

This is pretty old news isn't it Funk?

Still cool though, Apple is helping in the war on terror. What do you think of THAT Microsoft? Eh?

I dunno if it's for real, but one of the "Join The Army" adverts over here features a guy flying a UAV. WITH AN XBOX 360 CONTROLLER

Oh yeah, I remember that. That confused me

 

[CuddlyCombine]

Basically your entire argument is that it's true because it passed through a journalist (from Britain) and the US Army has chosen to endorse the product. You don't think that's being just a little zealous? It's not like the Pentagon has impressed anyone with its actual value in terms of oversight and control of army affairs at any time during its lifespan. It's about as welloiled a machine as a Warsaw Pact state.

I never said that journalists are infallible. Journalists are as corruptible as the next. Whether or not this story was blown out of proportion is irrelevant, though; I'm saying that, for one, you can't claim that any seasoned sniper works solo in disputed territory, and you also can't call bullshit on a story that simply states that the U.S. military endorses something. As Funk stated, they also endorse loads of other stuff because it's all useful.

The only way I can counter your belief in journalists and army pressmongers is by telling you to read up on what you're talking about, so you actually have the possibility of judging those facts in light of actual knowledge.

I'm actually studying full-time to be a journalist (in my second year), so I have read up on a lot of this stuff. I know what I'm talking about. I'm not omniscient, but I'm not clueless. Perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but I never understood what makes perfectly reasonable people shout, "Conspiracy! The media is milking this story!" about pieces like this which are hardly even sensationalized.

Basically, all I can tell you based on my studies is that the story is certifiably inaccurate at best, if not flat wrong. You're right in that there's no reason why you wouldn't use a cellphone if all else fails - But that's a very (short of completely) redundant hypothesis, as all sniper gear, most sniper weapons systems and all modern sniper tactics are solidly founded in the fact that they as well as their gear cannot fail, under any circumstance. They're supposed to be the joker on the battlefield, the guys who do not fail when you need a task performed.

First of all, all the article says is that the app is approved for use and that it exists. It isn't the only thing the army has ever sponsored. It does not say that the U.S. is now supplying every soldier with an iPhone and peashooter, nor does it say this is the greatest invention ever conceived. I doubt it's even used by anyone. All the story says is that it exists; it doesn't say anything about all snipers using this.

These are highly professional people doing a very highly specialized craft. They aren't bumbling idiots who go around losing gear or jumping to duct tape and string solutions. I'd argue that snipers are some of the most boring, cautious people on the planet, and certainly in any modern army. Perhaps only outdone by quartermasters.

I agree. A good sniper team is the most lethal force on the battlefield. And I assure you that they won't be using an iPhone unless the rest of their gear just got smoked by a mortar. But that still doesn't mean that the app can't do the task it's stated to do.

Also, I wouldn't be arsed to make a profile on the Escapist and engage in an internet forum if I wasn't sure of the blatant inaccuracy of that post. I don't enjoy being the angry guy, but it's just a false gimmick of a story, as well as advertising posing as journalism.

I guess I'll have to agree to disagree and state that our preferences are different.