Guest Editorial: The Internet of Military Defense Things: State-of-the-Art Challenges, Future Evolution, and Revolutionary Applications

The widespread adoption of technology, such as cloud computing, mobile communication, sensor networks, and artificial intelligence, poses significant challenges and opportunities for military defense and national security. In the current technological landscape, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can significantly enhance capabilities and fundamentally change the speed, scale, adaptability, and efficiency of defense and national security operations. IoT will improve situational awareness by connecting various components, such as soldiers, military vehicles, ships, tanks, aircraft, satellites, high-altitude platforms, and unmanned aerial vehicles. However, the defense and national security environments, such as patrolling battlefields, safeguarding borders, surveillance, and providing advanced military training, pose particular difficulties. Moreover, the increasing diversity and interconnectivity of networked components, including combat attire, helmets, weaponry, and other equipment that collect and transmit instantaneous data to military bases, present additional complexities for defense and national security systems. To tackle the challenges mentioned above, it is crucial to develop innovative and practical methods that can accurately depict the present situation, understand emerging trends, and offer predictive analytics in a wide range of defense and national security contexts that are constantly evolving.