Tactical Edge IoT in Defense and National Security: Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations

Core Concepts

This chapter explores the potential of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Edge IoT technologies to enhance defense and national security operations, outlining the benefits, challenges, and future research directions.

Abstract

Bibliographic Information:

Fraga-Lamas, P., & Fernandez-Caramés, T. M. (2023). Tactical Edge IoT in Defense and National Security. In R. Douglass, K. Gremban, A. Swami, & S. Gerali (Eds.), IoT for Defense and National Security (pp. 1-33). Wiley-IEEE Press. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119892199.ch20

Research Objective:

This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the applications, benefits, challenges, and future directions of Tactical Edge IoT in defense and national security.

Methodology:

The authors conduct a literature review of existing research on Edge IoT, focusing on its relevance to military and public safety applications. They analyze various use cases, propose a communications architecture, and identify key challenges and recommendations for future research.

Key Findings:

• COTS Edge IoT technologies offer significant potential for enhancing situational awareness, decision-making, and operational efficiency in defense and national security.
• Key application areas include C4ISR, firepower control, logistics, smart city operations, soldier healthcare, training, crowd sensing, energy management, and smart surveillance.
• A four-layer communications architecture, comprising an IoT Device Layer, Tactical Edge Layer, upper-level gateway, and internal cloud, is proposed for Tactical Edge IoT systems.
• Major challenges include trustworthiness, capacity limitations, security concerns, heterogeneity of devices, and scalability issues.

Main Conclusions:

• Tactical Edge IoT has the potential to revolutionize defense and national security operations by enabling real-time data analysis, improved situational awareness, and enhanced decision-making capabilities.
• Addressing the identified challenges through further research and development is crucial for the successful implementation and widespread adoption of Tactical Edge IoT in these critical domains.

Significance:

This research highlights the transformative potential of Edge IoT in defense and national security, providing valuable insights for military leaders, policymakers, and technology developers.

Limitations and Future Research:

The chapter acknowledges the need for further research on specific aspects of Tactical Edge IoT, including trustworthiness, security, energy efficiency, interoperability, and the integration of emerging technologies like 5G/6G and AI.

Stats

By 2030, the potential economic value of IoT is projected to grow from $5.5 trillion to $12.6 trillion.
The market for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications is expected to reach $83.23 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 23.2%.
Ericsson predicts that by 2027, broadband IoT connections with 4G will represent 40% of cellular IoT connections, while massive IoT connections will account for 51%.

Quotes

"Tactical scenarios are mainly characterized by limited resources, high levels of stress and a lack of stability (e.g., they can be highly dynamic, complex and hostile, or mission-critical environments)."
"The bandwidth, latency, security and decentralization requirements of today’s modern tactical applications are incompatible with centralized clouds directly connected to a large number of IoT devices."
"Defense and PS entities are essential for preserving security and when it is necessary to react to emergency situations and natural disasters."

Key Insights Distilled From

Tactical Edge IoT in Defense and National Security

by Paula Fraga-... at arxiv.org 11-04-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.00511.pdf