Combining Software-Defined and Delay-Tolerant Approaches in Last-Mile Tactical Edge Networking

Network-centric warfare is a no-way-back trend in modern military operations. The application of this concept ranges from upper-level decision making echelons to troop guidance on the battlefield, and many studies have been carried out in this area. However, most of these are concerned with either the higher-level strategic networks, that is, the networks linking the higher echelons with abundant resources, satellite communications, or even a whole network infrastructure, or high-end TEN, representing resource-rich troops in the field, with military aircraft, battleships, or ground vehicles equipped with powerful wireless communication devices and (almost) unrestricted energy resources for communication. However, these studies fail to take into account the "last-mile TEN," which comprises resource constrained communication devices carried by troopers, equipping sensor nodes deployed in the field or small unmanned aerial vehicles. In an attempt to fill this gap in the studies on battlefield networking, this article seeks to combine software-defined and delay-tolerant approaches to support the diverse range of strict requirements for applications in the last-mile TEN.