New phone for defense personnel being developed by Boeing and BlackBerry

Cell phone company Blackberry and Boeing are partnering on a special type of smartphone that can destroy itself.

Both companies came together to develop a smartphone that could self-destruct, according to Bloomberg. The new phone, called the Boeing Black, is planned to be for people working for U.S national security and defense. Both companies have found sales for their products declining, with Boeing losing some business because of budget cuts for the Pentagon, and sales for commercial products by Blackberry decreasing.

Boeing discussed their Boeing Black phone in a PDF from their website. Electronic security on the smartphone was said to include modifiable controls and encryption to defend the phone, its information, and exchanges utilizing sensitive information. The phone would also include a “dual-SIM capability,” allowing a defense worker to alternate from a government network to a commercial network, among other capabilities.

Bloomberg also reported that triggers on the phone enabled the self-destruction of the Boeing Black by the user. No further details were given by Boeing or the publication on how the self-destruction setting would work.