Mobile military security with concentration on unmanned aerial vehicles

This research investigates the increasingly complex issues confronted when implementing security in the mobile computing and operations efforts with military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The new arenas, which have emerged within the last several years, include Homeland Security efforts, multiple simultaneous UAV operation, combat surveillance, arsenal delivery, and applications of Micro-UAV vehicles. These newer avenues for application of UAV technology share similar complexities and security risks with the mobile military security arena. The future applications of UAVs equipped with wireless Internet access, advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) mission control techniques, advanced vision systems, search and rescue systems, and bulletproof information security architectures will need the combined research efforts of multiple disciplines. The primary benefits include preservation of lives in combat, homeland, emergency, and disaster areas.

Introduction

There has been ongoing research for all aspects of mobile security and UAV advancements towards autonomy. Research in AI applications and multiple UAV control concerns are addressed in current research efforts [1]–[3]. The military, government, and private sectors have benefited from research at universities and industries through programs such as DARPA, the NASA SBIR program and similar technological advancement research programs. At the same time UAVs are experiencing rapid growth, there is a revolution in wireless applications. The wireless network revolution includes growth in areas of personal area body networks, home area networks, local-area wireless networks, and wide-area cellular systems [4]. The UAV arena has experienced rapid growth with vehicles capable of achieving some of the complex operations required by the U.S. Military Service branches (Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army, and Coast Guard). When threats to National security, disasters or global emergencies erupt the military branches are often called to assist [5]. Local branches of the National Guard, Firemen, and Police Forces respond quickly to statewide and national disasters. As events escalate to a national level and the military forces get involved this coalition of different entities require advanced security operations.