PALO ALTO, Calif., 13 Feb. 2008. The use of communication technologies in defense applications had been previously assumed as only a supplementary concept that aids functioning in the defense industry. However, with mounting concerns over homeland and border security and rapid advances in the field of mobile and wireless technologies, there is a growing trend toward the adoption of networking and wireless technologies in various application areas of the defense sector.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, "Global Advances in Communication for Defense R&D," explains that the emergence of innovative technologies, combined with industry collaborative efforts has provided the ongoing momentum for this industry. The creation of new communication technologies and their application in critical areas of defense have always exhibited a symbiotic growth pattern.
"The area of defense is becoming robust with every new innovation from the global research community," notes Technical Insights research analyst Arun Nirmal. "Funding from major defense organizations is providing the necessary impetus for R&D related to defense communications."
Furthermore, every region has been investing heavily in developing innovative and highly personalized tactical networking technologies for their defense systems. The global focus on terrorism has also kindled interest among many governments to reaffirm their faith in defense communications R&D. At present, the industry has envisioned many emerging communications being applied in critical defense applications, such as command, control, computers, communications, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (CISTAR).
"With regard to the opportunities for the various communication technologies, military defense has the highest attractiveness for radio communications, whereas maritime defense has the lowest," remarks Technical Insights research analyst Gaurav Sundararaman. "As for satellite technology, it is interesting to note that airborne and maritime defense possess the maximum attractiveness followed by military defense and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)."
Global technical studies in this domain show that militarization capabilities of many nations have grown tremendously. However, uncertainty over global adoption, problems related to wireless security, and lack of commercial prospects are all challenges for market participants.
"Stringent defense laws coupled with rapid advancements in mission critical areas such as ballistic missile defense have forced many nations into a new trend of self-reliance," says Nirmal. "Costs to deploy state of the art technology are also very high, hampering commercialization prospects."
