Air Force to Buy Up to 18,000 Tablets to Replace Flight Bags

[ap3x]

[citation][nom]ramprun[/nom]if that is true then why not just go with kindle for a lot cheaper. they only want to replace the printed manual. Why buy something like a table and then dumb it down so pilot cannot play game.[/citation]

That is absolutely correct. It would be allot cheaper to provide a Kindle if this was just for reading documentation but my guess is that they are doing IPads or equivalents because will allow access to email as well as proprietary applications that provide information about the flights as well possibly mission information. Basically the same thing that American Airlines and United Airlines is doing. I just don't think that all the information is out yet.

Also keep in mind that if they did not control these devices the user can add all kind of applications that could provide unnecessary distractions or potentially be a security risk. IOS have built in VPN clients for secure communications to private networks. You don't allow access to a VPN without securing the client first. Just standard security practice.

 

[elcentral]

if they wuld go tablets dont go a brand like apple or like samsung the more users a brand gets the more hackers will try to go for it. its much smarter and safer to make your own system but ofc the cost will be multiplyed alot. but its for flight so im not sure they can take a risk on this one. unless they got some kind of special rebuilt deal from apple ofc.

 

[internetlad]

I hate the idea of having a tablet used in a life-or-death situation, but here it actually sort of makes sense. Too bad they're hopping on the crApple bandwagon like everybody else.

 

[zorky9]

Chapter 1 - Angry Birds

 

[blueeyesm]

This is where Ciscos tablet offering will come into play. They give the Enterprise I.T. groups FULL control over the tablet. Thus, no one can access Androids store apps with them, if the I.T. managers decree it so.

 

[elkein]

[citation][nom]nebun[/nom]such a waste....did we forget that we are in debt?[/citation]
Wrong; believe it or not flight bags are heavy, the ipads will save their cost in fuel alone in a few days.

 

[john15v16]

They airforce/military won't be purchasing iPad's or "i" anything for field usage as those documents carried (OPM's, FRAGO's, etc...) require a secure environment which only blackberry and android OS's have been vetted and approved.

 

[cookoy]

now they will have to keep replacing "lost" or "misplaced" tablets every week

 

[elkein]

What will really chap some butts is I am probably going to implement ipads with terminal capabilities and wipe out a bunch PC terminals at my workplace. The harsh environment for the various touchscreen terminals keeps their cost and maintenance high. The portable ipad is disposable, so what if it is eaten up in a vat of acid, a supply of backups are ready to go. I can't be the only one ready to roll these out in highly automated manufacturing, I'm thinking automotive assembly, chemical proccess plants, power plants etc. the tablet is arriving to kill the terminal PC.

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]sirmorluk[/nom]As a person who was in the Army pre-I.T. revolution and in Army I.T. as a civilian afterwards you would be shocked at the amount waste that goes on in every aspect of government. It is sickening. It was so bad and made me so angry my health started to suffer from stress. Just one example: I was instructed to destroy $300,000 of tablet computers (fujitsu) that were 1 year old because the RAM was too small for the latest version of software they were running.I recommended a simple $40/tablet RAM upgrade to bring them up to spec. I was laughed at and told to proceed with the destruction. Sure enough they ordered brand new ones @ $1,500 apiece and crushed the old ones. I loved helping our troops but cannot work for the bureaucracy. this type of waste was not unique and I cite only one of many that I saw.[/citation]

they never ask if there is a cheaper cost effective solution, and that is a major problem, and why government has s much debt. we spend 2 trillion a year on military alone, and i would love to bet that if you trimmed the waste from their budget, and by waste i mean all of the excessive spending it would be some where in the range of 1 trillion a year... i believe our government takes to much money, and wastes it because they cant have anything extra... and thats sick.

if i live till im 35, vote me into office, i will hire on a crap ton of business majors, accountants and so forth, just for the sole purpose of managing our governments expenses.

 

[Guest]

The reason they are using a color tablet and not a kindle is because they need large high resolution color displays. Aerial maps are very detailed and have lots of color. You need a nice large display to see it all.

 

[Guest]

"we spend 2 trillion a year on military alone"

lol, source plz

 

[Phillip]

I flew fixed-wing in the service from 1971-1977. There is NO pilot carrying 70 pounds of paper on a flight. I never weighed mine, I'll estimate 5..10 pounds at the outside.

Still..I like the idea of using a table. I have a rooted color Nook I use these days. The military had better be looking at Android based tablets...IPads are a waste of money for such a simple task.

 

[jellico]

[citation][nom]greghome[/nom]But with one nice EMP........boom.......all those manuals are gone Some paper will come in handy in the event of a nuke over head[/citation]
Since that would also fry the electronics on most aircraft, I think it'll be ok..

 

[noblerabbit]

I will have no trouble whatsoever, in defecating onto an Apple iPad bag in my future flights.

 

[noblerabbit]

[citation][nom]gmciaramella[/nom]Between 63 and 18,000? Way to be specific...[/citation]

I guess it comes down to budget constraints. 63 Apple, or 18,000 Androids...

decisions...

 

[irh_1974]

[citation][nom]greghome[/nom]But with one nice EMP........boom.......all those manuals are gone Some paper will come in handy in the event of a nuke over head[/citation]
If the nukes start flying are you really gonna be worried about a pile of paper? When the mushroom clouds settle down the only thing paper will be good for is wiping your butt.

 

[velocityg4]

[citation][nom]greghome[/nom]But with one nice EMP........boom.......all those manuals are gone Some paper will come in handy in the event of a nuke over head[/citation]
Assuming the plane still functions. Most or all of the flight plans would be out of date after a nuclear strike.

Besides they could have backup tablets stored in EMP shielded areas.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I deifinitely remember reading about a commercial airline doing the same thing. If memory serves, there was some sort of rreduction in fuel consumption. I would have thought the savings would not be significant - perhaps just a very tiny drop in a great big tank of aviation fuel. On the other hand, eliminating all those heavy flight bags full of paper and the associated printing and distribution costs seems to make sense. I wish the report inlcluded the cost of creating, printing, and distributing all those documents.

 

[__-_-_-__]

70pounds of paper is about 8000sheets. let's say a tablet pc life is about 5years. that's 1825days divided by 28 that's about 65.
so in 5years a tablet saves about 520000sheets of paper. if one sheet costs $0.005 then a tablet saves about $2600 minus the price of the tablet.


air force saving trees... too bad they waste millions of gallons of jet fuel...