Preparing for war 2.0

Sensor swarms, RFID, supercomputing and brain-machine interface technologies could all play their part on the battlefield of tomorrow.

In its Defence Technology Strategy published this week, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed its R&D priorities for the first time. With an annual spend of £2.6bn the MoD is one of the largest government investors in R&D.

The document highlights the importance of modern communication systems to battlefield operations. "Modern military capability is underpinned by sensor and communication systems that exploit the electromagnetic spectrum," it said.

This reliance will increase as commanders attempt to combine information from different types of sensors to build a better view of the battlefield.

At the heart of the Network Enabled Capability is the C4ISTAR technology - the command and control infrastructure to create an IP-based information system for UK forces.

The military is also looking for developments in electronic warfare capabilities, and as the report revealed: "Recent operational experience has reconfirmed the vital and integral role of electronic warfare in military operations across the spectrum of conflict from terrorism, through peace support to high intensity conflict."

Asset tracking and equipment monitoring could see increased use of existing technologies such as RFID, although defence has some specific needs - such as the ability for tags to be covert in battlefield and to operate in harsh environments.

And among the emerging tech that the MoD is looking at is semantic web technologies, which could aid decision making by helping commanders to retrieve the right tactical information in a timely manner and have it presented in an easily understandable way.

The report noted: "MoD is investing at an early stage in this technology and will work with industry to take this forward."

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Sensor networks will be used to build a comprehensive picture of the environment, measuring a range of parameters. It added: "Such networks may take the form of intelligent 'swarms' of unmanned vehicles."

In addition, pervasive computing will provide relevant information and processing to the user, through the embedding of devices and 'smart' sensors into the environment, while quantum cryptography could improve security. Access to supercomputing technology is needed in order to develop terrestrial, marine and space-based sensors.

The MoD said another area of interest is social network analysis which can identify network structures, strengths and vulnerabilities, and could be used by the military to improve UK networks or to best target enemy networks by identifying key hubs.

And the MoD also noted that developments in "brain-machine interface" systems have "potential military applications".