Notes from MILCOM: Changing the Battlefield

16 December 2013
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This is the second post in a two-part series exploring the key trends and challenges highlighted at this year’s MILCOM Conference. If you missed the first post, catch up by reading How Disruption is Creating a New Warfighter.

Things are getting foggy

CaptureWhile everyone has heard about cloud computing, I often find myself trying to explain to military commanders exactly what "cloud computing" means—or perhaps more importantly, how it might benefit them. As you might expect, there was a great deal of discussion about the cloud at MILCOM. Industry leaders talked about bringing the benefits of cloud computing from the enterprise to the battlefield. Military commanders responded by outlining the unpredictable nature of battlefield connectivity and how future foes will likely target communications networks critical in facilitating a cloud computing infrastructure.

So the answer seems to lie in taking the cloud computing infrastructure—the applications, data and computing—all the way to the edge of the network. And some smart cookie thought this is like bringing a cloud down to ground level. Hence the name "fog computing." (I'm not sure I like this name. I've had a hard enough time explaining the cloud concept. Now I'll have to explain fog, too. But the Cisco guys seem to be pushing the buzzword and it's likely to catch on.) Regardless of what it's called, GE has been very active in this area for some time. The basic idea behind fog computing is to enable intelligent computing at the tactical edge, therefore minimizing the reliance on central computing resources. Fog computing promises to alleviate the strain on overburdened communications networks by preprocessing video and sensor data and, for example, intelligently selecting the bare minimum data that must be sent over a satellite link. This is exactly where our High Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC) systems fit in. Remember, Cisco's warfighter housed a small fog computer alongside the router software in their MILCOM demonstration.

It's all about the software

I'm still surprised, given the tremendous activity in the enterprise space, that software-defined networking (SDN) is not getting a lot of attention in the military. Sure, much of our military IT infrastructure is one big enterprise network,—and SDN is starting to play there—but there seems to be little talk about SDN in a tactical battlefield network. Dr. Nick McKeown, a professor from Stanford University, gave a valiant attempt at highlighting SDN and its benefits for the MILCOM audience. His basic argument is that SDN simplifies the network and takes the ownership away from Network Equipment Providers (NEPs) like Cisco, and hands it over to the network operators. He argued that these benefits have become clouded in fluff because the existing NEPs, sensing a threat to their business, have essentially hyped their own existing solutions as software-defined networks. (I thought these were bold statements to make since he sat right next to a Cisco executive on the stage.)

I happen to believe that SDN has great potential in disrupting the status quo for tactical military networks; delivering greater flexibility, security, simplicity in procurement and management; and lowering costs—all the problems today's military is trying to solve. These benefits will push SDN to the forefront of discussions as we continue to, as Churchill said, run out of money and need to think. Also, the traditional networking industry that provides the military with its next-generation technology has already moved in this direction. The train has left the station and a predominantly hardware-focused industry is maturing into software industry.

(Intrigued? Don’t worry; I'll have much more to say about this in future blog posts.)

Let's not forget about cybersecurity

Because you cannot discuss military communications without mentioning cybersecurity, every single presentation at MILCOM touched on the subject. It seems to me the challenges, technologies and politics of cybersecurity are always the same— which is why I tend to avoid the many cyber-focused defense events that are all over the calendar these days.

The key points are always:

  • We are becoming more network dependent
  • The network is becoming more complex.
  • This presents an increased threat of cyberwarfare.
  • We need to beef up our defenses right at the time when we are cutting back our military spend.

The increasing trend I have seen over the years is the acceptance that no network will be completely secure; military networks are likely already compromised and will be attacked in future conflicts. This shifts the discussion from how to protect the network to how our military forces can operate while compromised and in a communications-denied environment. GE is very actively involved in solving some tough problems; I’ll address these in future blog posts.

So there you have it—MILCOM 2013. Of course, there were a lot of other great topics such as MANET, radio-router interfaces, next-generation Satcom, line-of-site communications with lasers and the buildout of an all-pervasive aerial layer network. Great technologies that aim to make our armed forces more capable, more nimble and more connected.

So, what do you think? Did you attend the MILCOM Conference? What were your key takeaways?

Rubin Dhillon

Rubin has spent over 20 years in the embedded computing world, in roles ranging from support to sales to product management and even garbage collector. He experienced the huge growth (and crash) of the telecom industry, and he's spent time dabbling in medical, industrial, transportation and military applications. Rubin figured he has so many stories to tell, he should get into marketing and so he is now our VP of Marketing. Connect with Rubin on LinkedIn and he'll explain the "garbage collector" story…