Defense technology giant Lockheed Martin (News - Alert) is well known for being ahead of the technological curve. In a recent blog post, entitled “IoT is Transforming Modern Warfare,” the company outlines some of the ways the Internet of Things is paving the way for the future of battlefield tactics and strategy.
The post says that the U.S. military is quickly changing to match the sophisticated adversaries it is facing in modern operations. The IoT is critical to the military’s ability to quickly correlate, evaluate and create value from data and get an edge on the battlefield.
In current operations, military data gathering happens through sensors on aircraft, weapon systems, ground vehicles and even soldiers and sailors. That data is filtered through Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems that determine which is mission-critical and recommend actions.
To interpret the incoming data in real-time, the post says, companies like Lockheed Martin are using machine learning to improve and increase the automation in this process. Machine-learning programs can filter through information and locate threats in real time, helping commanders make strategic decisions on the ground. “IoT allows this information to be linked across platforms and weapon systems, developing an intricate warfighting network,” according to the post.
The U.S. military is already making use of IoT-enabled systems. For example, the Missile Defense Agency’s Command, Control Battle Management and Communications System, known as C2BMC, uses ISR to connect the elements of the ballistic missile defense system into a single system-of-systems to counteract threats across the globe.
“C2BMC is the translator for ballistic missile defense systems,” said JD Hammond, director, Operational Command & Control, in the post. “It takes data from hundreds of sensors, radars and satellites and translates that data into a common language for the missile defense systems to interact and engage the threat.”
“By fully understanding threats of intrusion, thanks in part to IoT systems of systems, the military can predict the characteristics of future intrusions with greater confidence and evolve its techniques and cyber infrastructures for future attacks,” concludes the post.
I can’t agree more, and it makes distinct strategic sense.