“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,” James Rogers reports for TheStreet. “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,” Rogers reports. “Contractor Executive Technology clinched the deal to deploy the so-called Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs).”
Rogers reports, “‘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.’ The weight savings vary by aircraft across AMC’s vast airfleet, from as much as 250 pounds in a four-person C-17, up to 490 pounds in a hulking C-5 with its 10 crewmembers.”
Read more in the full article here.
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They’ll just waste that $50 million somewhere else. But that’s a nice sale for someone representing Apple. Nice commission eh?
Perhaps, GM, perhaps not. But it is a start, at least, isn’t it? Improvement has to start somewhere. We can either build on that progress or let it languish through apathy and undermine it with cynicism.
Goodness, I wouldn’t call your remark cynical. Well maybe a little.
Contrary to popular misconception, the only way to SAVE money is not to spend it at all. Buying iPads is not saving squat, it is merely buying a different tool that is PROJECTED to MAYBE save money IN THE FUTURE.
Like all other “cost saving” schemes, it remains to be seen if operational costs fall in line with projections. Knowing how the military operates, it will find a way to squander even more money on “unanticipated cost overruns”.
Welcome to the military-industrial complex, Apple.
the fuel to move that paper costs money. that money won’t be spent because that fuel won’t be needed. also, from something else i have read recently, at least on civilian airlines the companies save money from a reduction in injuries to staff resulting from not having to lug around all that paper.
For tens of thousands of years mankind has recorded all kinds of great technological leaps. But show me any budget trend — especially from a military organization — that has shown significant long-term budget decreases. Any?
The Air Force supposedly hauls around a lot of paper today. Tomorrow they’ll just find something else to haul around to justify their existence and, of course, continued top-priority funding. Ironically, the majority of libertarian-leaning blowhards fail to recognize that a standing army is the most socialist of all government agencies — which of course is why it continues to receive so much money, with so little to show for it.
While $50 million is a molecule in the universe of the total defense budget in the next 10 years, this amount is not insignificant when you look at only this section of the USAF. And this savings will help preserve some of the many civilian jobs that this section of the USAF uses. Now they just need about 1000 more cost saving measures like this across all of the military to offset the sequestration-caused economical losses that will be felt due to our lazy Senate and Congress. I mean come on guys, what entities operate without an approved budget.
Great great.
But $50 million in cost savings over the next 10 years is a drop in the ocean. 1 soldier in Iraq costs 1 million a year, each! Pull home 5 solders instead is the savings is the driver and not better technogy from a great company.