In a military conflict each soldier, mobile and/or autonomous land, sea or air unit is part of a highly complex and simultaneously running system which is characterized by a multi domain network centric warfare covering military dimensions (land, sea, air, space & cyber) as civilian ones (information war). The different parts of the armed forces can be seen as a chain which is as strong as the weakest link of a chain. The enemy always tries to identify and attack this weakest link to win a single battle or in best case the full war.
Land defense units must be qualified and technically able to react on different kinds of aggressions in a proper way, irrelevant if they face an asymmetric warfare situation or a large-scale battle covering thousands of trained soldiers on the enemy side. Technically this means ground units are equipped with e.g., ground positioning systems, satellite communication, smart long-distance munition as individual soldiers equipped with night vision, ICT equipment and shoulder based anti-tank or even anti-air systems. Partly artificial intelligence supports individual soldiers in doing their tasks.
Ground forces of the future need a real time surveillance and reconnaissance capability of handling large areas both as the capability to strike lethally in a most accurate way. The first point can be reached in the 21th century by using satellites combined with SW-solutions able to handle to transfer and analyse big data. To reach a higher intelligence level and more accurate information other sensors have to be used. The solution will be a kind of “military internet of things” connected to state-of-the-art C4ISR-solutions.
This environment leads to a challenging situation for producers of military goods. What is the strategy to be in the game and to find a solution fitting to the requirement of the customers in terms of technology, price and being future-proof in an evolving competitor environment? How can a low market price be reached using economies of scale on the one hand and offering a tailored solution to different customers as OEM or Tier1/2 supplier.