A range of crossover technologies will become common across both commercial and military communications networks and devices
Military communications will share a large portion of technologies with the commercial sector going forward, a report from Strategy Analytics has stated. Software defined architecture, solid-state technology, radio-satellite communications, wireless network integration, as well as communicating voice and data simultaneously and securely in an increasingly complex spectrum environment will underpin growth for military communications systems and the associated component and semiconductor demand.
The Strategy Analytics Advanced Defence Systems (ADS) service report forecasts spending on global military communications systems and services will grow to over $36.7 billion in 2026, a compound annual growth rate of 3.5%.
Military communications operate under an umbrella of heterogeneous networks that enable the provision of interoperable voice, video and data services across a global environment, segmented according to security policies, transmission requirements and the individual needs of the end user.
In terms of the networked battlespace, this can be summarised as:upper level networking, consisting of infrastructure and networking components; mid-level networking providing high capacity backhaul; and support to the tactical edge for end users and sensors.
“In a similar fashion, 5G serves as an aggregator technology that will encompass a range of network types and technologies to serve both traditional voice, video and data requirements to the end user, as well as opening up capabilities to enable connectivity across devices including vehicles, machines, sensors and devices,” noted Eric Higham, North American director for ADS.
Phased arrays, beam forming, millimetre-wave frequencies, satellite communications, Gallium Nitride, duplex communications and shared spectrum access are amongst the crossover technologies that will become common across both commercial and military communications.
“Communicating voice, data and video simultaneously and securely over wider and higher bandwidths in an increasingly complex spectrum environment will underpin trends for military communications system design and associated component demand,” observed Asif Anwar, ADS director at Strategy Analytics. “This will be underpinned by software defined architectures, solid-state technologies including gallium nitride and radio-satellite communications-wireless network integration.”
