‘Nett Warrior,’ the military program that aims to give soldiers the tools for communications and mapping with each has been put on ice. It seems the US army have decided to cut a couple of kilograms in the solider’s kit and go with civilian technology. And they’re going Google.

Because the military’s all about open-source, right?

Says WIRED:

It’s a concession to an emerging internal trend. The Army is crazy for apps and plans to launch its own app store very soon. Its vice chief, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, gushes about the Army’s new data network and raves about how well generic, commercial smartphones handled network usage during a recent test at the White Sands Missile Rangethis summer.

Incoming Chief of Staff Ray Odierno may soon decide whether to require soldiers to carry smartphones as a standard piece of gear — and if he’s got the money to pay for it. Seen in that context, it doesn’t make sense to have Nett Warrior as a separate communications tool.

I’m all for swallowing your pride when it comes to expensive, cumbersome tech, but the point at which Android stops being a tool that lets Erich Schmidt abuse my privacy and starts being a tool that lets armies blast the hell out of each other, I make some vague noises about ethics and resume playing Angry Birds.

[Source: WIRED]