Air Force Targets $50M Savings With Apple iPads

[onehandle]

NEW YORK -- Apple iPads may be commonplace in homes and offices, but the popular tablet is now a key weapon in the U.S. Air Force's battle for efficiency. The lightweight Apple tablet has opened the door to more than $50 million in cost savings over the next 10 years, according to the military.

Last year the Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) awarded a $9.36 million contract for up to 18,000 iPads as part of an ambitious project to replace flight manuals with state-of-the-art tablets. Contractor Executive Technology clinched the deal to deploy the so-called Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs).

AMC, which provides Air Force cargo, passenger transport, refueling and aeromedical evacuation services, aims to boost efficiency and save millions of dollars through the tablets. For a typical aircrew, this means doing away with dozens of manuals containing literally tens of thousands of pages of information.

"We're saving about 90 pounds of paper per aircraft and limiting the need for each crew member to carry a 30 to 40 pound paper pile [of flight manuals]," said Major Brian Moritz, EFB program manager, in a phone interview. "It adds up to quite a lot of weight in paper."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11923560/1/air-force-targets-50m-savings-with-apple-ipads.html

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I heard they were getting Google Glasses instead

[Baitball Blogger]

2. I hope it doesn't have that feature where all you have to do is bump it against another

computer to download all the information. That would be a bit inconvenient when you're carrying our Top Secret information.