How Computers are Used in the Military

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Computers are used for all sorts of purposes in today’s military. GPS navigators work simultaneously with on-board computing systems to create paths to navigate. Computers are necessary for operating drones and other sophisticated weapons systems, including missiles and smart guns (complex ballistic calculations and smart scopes). Computers are also used to maintain the chain of command, provide directives, and security store information, such as strategic operations.

Rugged Systems for Our Best Defense

Soldiers spend a great deal of time in rugged elements, most recently sand and high temperatures, but also extreme cold, rain, and other difficult elements. Soldiers require equipment that doesn’t malfunction; therefore, a soldier’s computer is often a rugged computer, such as a defense system from Kontron. Only rugged computers are designed to withstand rugged elements, and are dependable in severe environments.

Military Testing and Computers

All military applicants have to take a standardized test, which is analyzed and scored by a computer. Potential applicants will be placed in specialized fields depending on their scores. Physical tests and other tests are also graded and analyzed by computers, and ultimately a computer will determine where the soldier is most useful. Of course, soldiers do have a say in what they do, but a computer also plays a significant role.

Some soldiers are also students (yes, the military has classrooms and provides education to soldiers). Students use computers and other devices (palm devices and tablets) to complete assignments and take tests. Computers are an integral part of military education from recruitment to soldiers currently serving in military classrooms around the world.

Smart Weapons and the Future of Military Computer Usage

Accurate weapons are the future, but many are already pretty smart. Today’s military weapons are outfitted with smart scopes, which can “increase accuracy out to 1,000 yards by performing complex ballistic calculations,” reports makeuseof.com. This increased accuracy is likened to the abilities of a gun in a first-person shooter video game, but this is real life. Expect those guns to continue to grow smarter as computers get smaller and can be fitted to weapons in new and useful ways.

And, expect communications systems to grow more superior overtime. Today, situational awareness is of utmost importance. The soldier has to be aware of himself, his coordinates, and his comrades coordinates. In the future, more advanced communications methods will be available, including real-time video feeds inside helmet-mounted graphics display and hovering cameras.

Secret Uses

The military is full of secrets, including computer secrets. Some secrets are a matter of national security, including some of the more secret ways the military uses computers. Until they’re completed, drone strikes are programmed into a computer but kept secret until such a time as the information can be released without putting soldiers and civilians at risk.

Although not much is known about the military’s secret use of computers, it can be assumed computers are used to forge cyber-attacks and secret hacking attempts of other countries. The American Spectator warns that “Computer warfare-cyberwar-may be the most dangerous new kind of warfare.”

The military uses computers in so many useful and innovative ways. Overall, computers are fundamental to military because before they existed wars were far more brutal and long-lasting. Today, much of the work can be done safely at a computer which is better soldiers.