U.S. army man creates smartphone app to hunt down Taliban fighters

What are the possible benefits of various smartphone apps that you can imagine? Have you ever thought of an app that can track down enemies? Yes, there is a smartphone app for that.

Jonathan Springer, a U.S. army captain has created Tactical Nav that can help to find out the location of an enemy and then to call an air strike or even a covering fire, BBC Newsbeat reported.

Springer created the app after two of his comrades were killed in a rocket attack. He claimed that the app provides accurate information as any other technology currently used for the same intention. The price of the app is cheaper too, Springer claimed.

Specialist Plunk and Specialist Thompson. We were in the Pesh River Valley. They took a rocket. Died instantly, BBC Newsbeat quoted Springer as saying.

The death of his two comrades made Springer think of a possible solution, which will be capable of preventing such unfortunate incidents in future, and he came up with Tactical Nav. The app can be downloaded by troops to their smartphones.

According to Springer, the app combines three components - a compass, a map and a camera. He further claimed that it was tested in Afghanistan and was accurate.

The app allows soldiers to find out from where enemies are firing and after that they can send that information to their command center. It is the command center which will decide if calling air-strike is required, or to send a rescue helicopter.

He asked the officials of the U.S. army for support but, they did not shown enough interest in the idea. Springer said that he spent more than $30,000 on his own to develop the app.

Since he didn't get any support from the authority, he decided to sell it to get some money back. I only sell it to try to make back the money I invested - I don't see dollar signs. I see soldiers' lives, he stressed.

Tactical Nav is now available on the iPhone app store.