Making the Connected Battlefield a Reality

Today, a technological revolution is sweeping across combat zones, transforming warfare into an even more complex information exchange. It’s called force connectivity and is a direct result to the ever-increasing presence of sophisticated technology on the frontline.

From soldier health monitoring to real-time equipment diagnostics, a web of interconnected devices and data streams are becoming a vital tool for mission success.

Landmark legislation such as the 1985 Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act started the focus on better military connectivity. This act, driven by a need for improved inter-service cooperation, mandated the development of comprehensive plans for intelligence sharing and operational coordination during joint military operations. These efforts laid the groundwork for improved information exchange.

Technology accelerates the pace of change

Fast-forward to now and, rather than regulatory-driven change, we’re moving into an era of technology-driven connectivity—as smart devices enter the battlefield to monitor the health of warfighters, equipment, and critical devices.

We’re seeing an explosion of asset connectivity that is starting to build a truly connected battlefield, not just on the ground, in the air, or at sea—but with some help from space too.

There are five key developments powering the connected battlefield now, and into the future:

1. Internet of Military Things (IoMT) is driving a proliferation of data

The internet of military things (IoMT) is the growing militarization of IoT—where IoT enabled sensors and devices provide a network of data that provides a deeper level of insight into a fighting force than ever before.

IoMT presents widespread opportunities, including enhanced efficiency, real-time decision-making, and improved situational awareness. The Australian Army has published a paper looking at IoMT describing it having “much scope for the development of additional capabilities in the future through the integration of sensors, robots, munitions, wearable devices, vehicles, and weapons.”

Successful IoMT deployments take Command, Control, Communications, Computers (C4) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) processes to a higher level by exploiting large volumes of collected data for optimized decision-making. The ability to connect scattered systems and networks with IoMT data feeds into a large integrated network will be a key component in the move to a connected battlefield.

2. Every soldier can be monitored more closely – wearables and biometrics provide real-time data

Another revolutionary and growing area of connectivity on the battlefield is the ability to monitor the health of troops on the field. In most modern fighting forces, almost every soldier now has biometric monitoring devices which use sensors to track heart rate, body temperature, blood oxygen levels, and stress levels so commanders can make decisions based on this human data. NATO, for example, is currently supporting the development of new wearable technology: “designed to minimize casualties during combat operations. It involves soldiers wearing various body sensors that will help medics collect vital data and determine the extent to which a soldier may be injured more accurately than a field medic would be able to conclude.” Add to this communication transmitter-receivers, GPS devices, night-vision aids, and other comms devices—and there is a huge proliferation of tactical-level data available. Furthermore, each one of those devices is actually an asset that forces need to track the performance of, further exacerbating the data deluge.

3. Assets themselves become stakeholders – and provide a direct window into force readiness

There is no longer just a one-way flow of info out to the asset from command. Many smart assets are now collecting data and engaging in two-way communication with other assets, and that two-way communication turns them into stakeholders.

A single U.S. Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle, as per Deloitte, can generate 70 terabytes of data within an operational span of 14 hours. Multiply that by 1000 in a drone swarm scenario and you can start to see the challenge facing commanders today in collecting the vast amounts of data available and distilling that data into actionable insights.

Or, consider a scenario where the asset itself, combined with predictive maintenance solutions, can tell the operator BEFORE the machine breaks down that a part is going to fail and alerts the operator, possibly even self-triggering a repair workflow by picking parts and scheduling a technician.

However, getting a total view of asset readiness from this vast dataset can be challenging—and further complicated by the involvement of defense contractors who may be responsible for performance-based logistics (PBL) agreements to keep assets mission-ready.

4. Space – not just the final frontier, but a new tactical dimension

The dimensions of the battlefield itself are also changing. What used to be air, land, sea, and time—has now become, air, land, sea, and space. It could even be argued this is now air, land, sea, space, plus cyberspace.

While not militarized, advances in communication satellites have become extremely beneficial in recent conflicts—even utilizing technology from the civilian side. For example, when SpaceX Starlink satellites were moved over Ukraine, that showed a flexibility and an adaptability of an infrastructure to quickly move to support an emerging conflict.

Data reach broadens here too. According to Deloitte the amount of data being sent to and from space will likely grow to more than 500 exabytes of information from 2020 to 2030 (a 14x increase). On top of this, 98% percent of senior executives surveyed said that demand for space data is increasing as it has broader use and significance across end-markets.

5. Data lake and intelligent analysis and distribution will truly connect the battlefield

So, we have IoMT plus the asset operators, and now you add the munitions themselves such as drone swarms and data feeds from space—and we are now dealing with a very sophisticated connected battlefield. Common to all these connected battlefield advancements is the proliferation of data. Forces must be able to turn this vast pool of data into critical insights that can influence mission success.

But if these developments operate in a decentralized manner, defense forces are not getting the immense value of the real-time aggregation of terabytes and terabytes of data every single second in a wartime scenario. As per Capgemini: “This data must be sorted and digested for end-users, ensuring they can access essential insights quickly.” This is where a data lake for asset management can provide command-level insights on all in-service assets.

If you’re a fighting force, you need a framework overarching all of this to tie data together in that one single solution with the ability to collect, analyze, and redistribute all of that data to the correct audience in a useful format.

Combining forecasting and predictability with a presentation layer drives Total Asset Readiness on a whole new level, giving commanders a clear real-time view of the assets at their disposal, in the context of the mission they need to complete.

It’s war Jim, but not as we know it – asset management infrastructure must match force connectivity requirements

By adopting an all-in-one asset management solution, defense contractors and forces can move beyond simply managing assets to actively orchestrating a high-performance logistics network. This integrated approach fosters data-driven decision-making, enabling proactive asset readiness, optimized resource allocation, and streamlined workflows.

The battlefield is only becoming more connected—making the most of the deluge of data it brings will drive tactical and strategic success on the battlefield.

Rob Mather is Vice President, Aerospace and Defense Industries, IFS

Featured graphic: ID 323517207 © Liliia Kanunnikova | Dreamstime.com