Defense 4.0: Internet of Things in Military

Abstract

Scientific and Technological (S&T) developments have been influencing military concepts and practice, particularly following the inception of the scientific revolution in the late sixteenth century. Defense has traditionally been one of the key drivers of S&T advancements due to large amount of funding it received particularly by national governments. A number of technologies have been developed for defense, found their civilian applications, and vice versa. Wherever the boost for change comes from, the nature of warfare has changed radically both due to S&T advancements and changing socioeconomic and geopolitical contexts. Despite of the barriers due to strict organizational culture, armies have adapted themselves into changing characteristics of warfare through new concepts and instruments. Among S&T developments, recent advancements in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) bring enormous opportunities as well as challenges for defense. One of the recent phenomena emerged with the rapid development of ICTs is the Internet of Things (IoTs), which affects every aspect of life with a growing number of devices communicating with each other. While the possibilities introduced by the IoT have been providing immense benefits, the increasing number of connections makes the system ever more complex and vulnerable because of the difficulty of securing huge networks. The chapter discusses how IoT will affect the military affairs and proposes future scenarios for exploring alternative trajectories.