The Fraying Edge: Limits Of The Army’s Global Network
The Army wants a single seamless data system from home base to the front line. That's even harder than it sounds.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on August 29, 2019 at 10:24 AM
TECHNET AUGUSTA: As future soldiers hunker in foxholes, hiding from spy drones and smart bombs, they could really use some real-time intel to plan their next move. But how do you get them access to the AI-curated big data on centralized cloud servers back in the continental United States? Until someone figures out how to run fiber optic cable to every squad, command post, tank, and helicopter, frontline forces must rely on wireless — which means radio and, maybe, one day lasers. Bandwidth is going to be a problem.
The Pentagon increasingly sees ubiquitous big data, stored and accessed through cloud computing, as a key to victory. The Army, in particular, has pushed to connect, and ultimately combine, its enterprise network — mostly fiber optic cables on safe, stationary bases in the US — to its tactical network — which must use wireless satellite and surface-to-surface links to units on the move and in harm’s way.
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/08/the-fraying-edge-limits-of-the-armys-global-network/
