iPhone app to map and plot Taliban positions

Captain Jonathan Springer has invested £20,000 in perfecting the system, called Tactical Nav which can be downloaded from iTunes for £3.49.

He says he came up with the idea after two of his comrades were killed in a Taliban rocket strike last year.

He perfected the tool, which is also being marketed to walkers in less hostile environments, during a 12-month tour in Afghanistan that ended in May.

"As a fire support officer, I take into battle a compass, binoculars, a map, a protractor, a GPS device – a secondary GPS device in case one fails –and batteries," he said in an interview after returning home to Indiana, in the US "What this does is, it combines all these components, and throws it into just the one app." The app is one of several smart phone technologies being used in war zones.

American soldiers are also testing a translation app for the Android operation system, as militaries around the world weigh up the benefits of issuing smartphones to servicemen.Others help snipers aim their rifles or fly mini drones – sadly not available on iTunes.