Unlock the Potential of IoT in Defense to Build Modern Armies

The military is the hidden treasure of the nations that works day and night selflessly keeping their lives at the stake. They are armed with the latest weapons to fight on the battlefield. Instead, constant improvement leveraging advanced technology is needed for the tools to enable military forces to edge out the enemies.

Earlier, we have discussed how augmented reality is reshaping military operations. what more can be done?

Presently, the defense system needs high connectivity to get real-time information and know situational awareness. All this is possible by leveraging IoT for defense. With the connected technology (Internet of things), soldiers will have more powerful, efficient and effective weapons.

According to Statista, “The total installed base of Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices is projected to amount to 75.44 billion worldwide by 2025, a fivefold increase in ten years.”

Image Source: Statista

Let’s dig deeper into how exponentially increased adoption IoT applications in defense would give a leg up to the defense system.

1) Provide Battlefield Situational Awareness

Surveying the battlefield in advance would help the officers in taking apt decisions at the right time. How would the officers come to know about the landscape before actually been there? This is possible by combining IoT with Drone.

The assessment is possible with unmanned aerial vehicles where attached sensors sense the data and send it to the command center in real-time. At the center, the data is analyzed and based on the situation commands are executed.

The network-centric warfare uses IoT communication gateways to connect battlefield assets back to headquarters. This way instant decisions could be taken at ease.

2) Proactive Equipment Maintenance

Maintenance of military vehicles is very important and that has to be done at regular intervals. Sometimes, sudden breakage or failure in the vehicle could be fatal on the battlefield.

How about if the military system would know the unanticipated part failure or unnecessary part replacement in the vehicle before the damage happen? Yes, it will be great. Predictive maintenance of equipment in real-time is possible by developing IoT applications for defense.

The onboard sensors are retrofitted in the fleet of vehicles that constantly measure and monitor engine performance. When any fluctuation is sensed by the sensors in the engine, the maintenance staff will be reported. This way mission reliability and security is enhanced, and reduction in manpower cost due to the maintenance staff shrinking. Also, the alerts facilitate on-demand ordering of parts in real-time and optimize the supply chains.