The hottest new battlefield weapon in Baghdad is also a hot item on the home front. The U.S. military has found the iPod Touch to be a valuable battlefield tool for soldiers.

The report notes that the iPod and applications developed for the iPhone perform many functions in this time of “networked warfare.” The devices helping as intelligence resources, such as aerial images from drones and translation software. Included is a program called Vcommunicator translates spoken and written Arabic, Kurdish, as well as two Afghan languages.

One application developed for the iPhone allows soldiers to take a photo of a street sign, upload it and immediately receive intelligence on the local area, such as water and sympathizers. The report from Newsweek detailed that as new recruits were already familiar with how the iPod and iPhone work, it has been easier to train soldiers on loading content. Not to mention, the cost is significantly better than other military purchases.

[via CNET]