Tactical Edge IoT in Defense and National Security

TL;DR

This paper explores how Edge Computing combined with IoT can enhance defense and national security by improving survivability, operational efficiency, and cybersecurity, while addressing deployment challenges and proposing a tactical communication architecture.

Contribution

It introduces a tactical Edge IoT architecture for defense, identifies open challenges, and provides research guidelines and recommendations for practical deployment.

Findings

Proposes a general design for Tactical Edge IoT communications

Identifies key open challenges for widespread adoption

Provides research guidelines and strategic recommendations

Abstract

The deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) systems in Defense and National Security faces some limitations that can be addressed with Edge Computing approaches. The Edge Computing and IoT paradigms combined bring potential benefits, since they confront the limitations of traditional centralized cloud computing approaches, which enable easy scalability, real-time applications or mobility support, but whose use poses certain risks in aspects like cybersecurity. This chapter identifies scenarios in which Defense and National Security can leverage Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Edge IoT capabilities to deliver greater survivability to warfighters or first responders, while lowering costs and increasing operational efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, it presents the general design of a Tactical Edge IoT communications architecture, it identifies the open challenges for a widespread adoption and provides research guidelines and some recommendations for enabling cost-effective Edge IoT for Defense and National Security.