Social media 'wizardry' will help British troops win wars

The British army has unveiled a new 'social media' app which allows soldiers to win wars using their mobile phones.

The Dismounted Situational Awareness Tool has been hailed a "game changer" by a senior Army officer after trials during the recent US-led Exercise Sabre Strike involving 18,000 troops and 19 countries across Eastern Europe.

Samsung mobile phones loaded with a mission, intelligence and mapping app called Android Tactical Assault Kit allow users to share and post information to other troops, such as imagery and their location.

Major Ben Parkyn, the officer commanding C Squadron, 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) said:  "It is going to be a game changer. I think we will never get away from maps, and having to look people in the eye to understand intent, but the speed at which we can do that now is greatly enhanced."

Maj Parkyn highlighted how the younger soldiers quickly got to grips with the technology. "They were teaching the teachers within 24 hours. They were sending overlays and mission packages and all sorts of clever wizardry stuff," he added.

"If you see a minefield, or an IED (Improvised Explosive Device), or a pocket of enemy, you can not only drop that [location] on, you can take a photo of it," Maj Parkyn said.

"You could also then set a proximity alarm, so if you get within 500 metres...it would ping on your system."

A British Army spokesman said: "We are constantly testing and evaluating the latest cutting-edge equipment on the market and continue to work with our allies to assess innovative technology that will ensure our forces remain prepared for every eventuality in the field.”

The trial confirms the new head of the army’s belief that the MoD must place "big bets" on technology or risk falling behind in arms race.

“We need a more proactive, threat-based approach to our capability planning, including placing some big bets on those technologies that we judge may offer exponential advantage,” General Mark Carleton-Smith said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Land Warfare Conference he said: “Given the pace of the race, to fall behind today is to cede an almost unquantifiable advantage from which it might be impossible to recover.”