The 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, is beta-testing Google Glass for its possible applications in combat, reported VentureBeat. The goal is to help the military transition from heavy reliance on battlefield laptops to using smartphones, tablets, and “wearables” more in combat and intelligence missions. Potential Air Force uses for Google Glass include helping forward air controllers steer aircraft to their targets, search and rescue missions, and helping combat controllers communicate with aircraft and ground troops in a variety of operations. So far, the team is impressed with the ability to quickly access information, but software developer and civilian contractor Andres Calvo told the VenterBeat the glasses are “not a silver bullet for many of the Air Force’s needs.” Google Glass is a wearable computer that incorporates an optical head-mounted display. The computer itself is Android-powered and mounted to the side of a pair of glasses. It operates on voice command.
The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.
