Military communications

Since its introduction in the late 1990s, the concept of network-centric operations to enable information sharing has been a fundamental element of the vision of military organizations throughout the world. As the complexity of operational environments increases, military communications network technologies must provide key characteristics such as self-organization and decentralization, which will speed information flow and increase situational awareness. In addition, given the rapid evolution of commercial communications network technologies, and the applications and services that utilize them, military organizations are increasingly looking at adopting commercial communications technologies where practical. This is especially true in the mobile wireless communications that are at the heart of tactical military operations and have seen such rapid adoption in the commercial space. The five articles that make up this year´s Feature Topic on Military Communications provide an excellent overview of these trends in military communications - increasing dependence on advanced technologies and leveraging of commercial technology where possible.