The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for developers to create applications for the iPhone or for handsets running Google’s Android OS that can be used in the tactical battlefield, for humanitarian assistance and in disaster-recovery efforts.

In a request posted on FedBizOpps earlier this week, DARPA wrote: “In today’s military, handheld systems are characterized by a tight integration of specialized hardware with a narrowly focused software suite. Most of the handheld devices are heavily optimized for a particular task and are ill-suited for general-purpose use.”

The agency also called for a transformation in technical approaches and business processes that ideally would result in rapid development of applications and system enhancement used by warfighters; encouragement and support of competition among suppliers in the military applications development process, and support of new business models and streamlined processes to incentivize suppliers.