The US Air Force has put in a Request for Proposal for 300 PS3s in order to utilize the console's computing power for a reasonable cost. It's still unclear as to exactly what they plan on doing with all of those PS3s. GameDaily has the story.
The history of the video game industry itself has often intertwined with military projects, but as the computers in game consoles have gotten more and more sophisticated, not only have they been used to run simulations but certain military forces around the world have looked to consoles for cheap, yet powerful computing power. Back in 2000, Iraq apparently purchased large numbers of the PS2, according to military intelligence sources. "Applications for this system are potentially frightening," said one intelligence source at the time. "One expert I spoke with estimated that an integrated bundle of 12-15 PlayStations could provide enough computer power to control an Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV -- a pilotless aircraft."
