Army To Show Some Of Latest Military Technology To Those With Tickets To Saturday's Game
By John McDevitt
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- They may be enemies on the gridiron, but after the Army/Navy game is over, both sides join a team of service to the nation. Army will be showcasing some of the latest technology being deployed with military men and women to ticketholders of Saturday's game.
An M777 1&55 mm howitzer is on display, the most state-of-the-art towed artillery piece that the army has in its inventory, according to Army spokesman Paul Mehney.
"And this particular arteriole piece is networked," Mehney says.
He also says smartphones and tablets will be utilized over a secured network in fire missions in Afghanistan.
"So the soldiers that are operating this artillery piece -- as long as they are plugged into the network -- can get their fire missions from the tactical operation centers and the vehicles, such as are displayed at Army/Navy game. It's all done virtually, if you will, now and you really don't have to pick up a radio if you don't want to," Mehney explains.
While rounds for that artillery piece are still loaded manually, there are smart rounds, GPS-guided artillery rounds.
"Your fire missions are much more accurate because they are being done over the network, so you have multiple levels of checks and balances to make sure you are putting fire down on the correct target," Mehney says.
