Mobile Ad Hoc Networking (MANET) Formulation Considered Harmful

Mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) is a narrow problem formulation that -- even in its most general form in current practice -- is an anachronism mismatched to warfighter needs that has held back progress in tactical networking. We discuss some of the limitations of the current MANET formulation and recommend orienting the tactical networks research agenda toward self-heterogeneous information networks with globally large extent along with a corresponding alignment of acquisition process toward tactical networking as a service.