December 10, 2012:
Commercial manufacturers pay attention to what the troops want and this produces some pretty neat stuff. A recent example is the iPad Optics Adapter. This allows you to mount your iPad in a vertical position and connect it to a number of night vision scopes (AN/PVS-14, AN/PVS-7, AN/PVS-15, and Recon M24 Thermal). This gives you a better image of what the night sights are seeing and the ability to instantly capture images and save or send them via email to others. The $450 adapter has proved popular with troops, especially those using night sights for base security. Some troops will buy these adaptors with their own money, although most units have cash available to buying non-standard but much needed equipment.