A New Norm for Defense & Space Networks

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A New Norm for Defense & Space Networks-IndianBureaucracy
A New Norm for Defense & Space Networks-IndianBureaucracy

It’s no secret that the Internet, social networks and smart phones have disrupted markets and changed the way people communicate worldwide. The global adoption of these technologies has been breathtaking. There are 3.4 billion Internet users worldwide and 2 billion people on social networks. Today, more than 2 billion people worldwide use smartphones, and more than 70 percent of the global population – 6.1 billion people – are expected to use smartphones by 2020.

Given the ubiquity of these technologies, it was inevitable that cyberspace, online networks and communications spectrum would emerge as critical strategic terrain in our national defence, as hotly contested and consistently targeted as any traditional battlefield. It was also inevitable that space – where satellites handle ever-increasing amounts of the world’s commercial and military communications data – would emerge as the next domain drawing the attention of the world’s great powers.

Operating effectively in these evolving domains requires not only new ways of thinking on the part of the Pentagon, but secure and robust networks that can support the type of situational awareness, analysis and decision-making typified by today’s cyber warriors – and also for those warfighters with boots on the ground.

Demand is increasing for reliable networks and high-throughput communications, in both civilian and defense markets, and digital transformation is occurring in space and on the ground that will provide networks that ensure spectrum dominance.  Like an arms race, we’re in a data race, and second place is not an option.

Evolution of Networked Communications

On the battlefield, command and control networks must become stronger and more adaptive, and technology must become smarter at passing along the right data at the right time, from those in the field, through to their commands, wherever they may be.

The most effective core networks enabling these capabilities will be secure and dynamic, but should also eschew proprietary systems in favor of open architectures. These networks must also be platform-agnostic.  Therefore, whether digital, web, analog, ground or satellite-based, the network will appear seamless for the warfighter, whose only concern is the ability to reliably and securely send and receive communications in the most challenging environments.

To that end, Thales is delivering technologies today and rethinking networks for the future in order to feed more information in real-time to the company and squad levels, allowing smart decisions based on time-sensitive intelligence.

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