Rapidly deployable military IoT and sensor network (RADEMIS)

Information superiority has always been regarded as key in warfare. In an increasingly digitised world with an ever “smarter” battlefield and short innovation cycles, reaching and keeping information superiority becomes more and more complex and challenging. The challenge to combine conventional and modern/hybrid elements in warfighting is acknowledged by the EU- and NATO-member states and has become even more crucial since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

Aiming at contributing to information superiority at the “last mile” on the battlefield, RADEMIS targets rapid deployment of sensor, effector and communication devices into terrain inaccessible by other means (see Figure 1 for a system overview of RADEMIS) such as territories occupied by hostile forces or territories which are very remote or even contaminated.

While fast and precise sensor deployment is straightforward in the civilian domain, military missions typically pose additional constraints on the deployment and the deployed devices. Within the outlined project, we focus on deployment by means of rocket technology, however, we elaborate on other military relevant options for delivery. Despite the commercial availability of multiple electronic devices, the military use confronts them with three substantial and largely unsolved issues, in contrast to civilian applications: a) robustness, b) deployment and c) camouflaged/concealed operation behind enemy lines. RADEMIS addresses all three challenges in an innovative way, setting up a highly versatile system with multi-mission capabilities.

To a large extent, RADEMIS combines existing technologies such as

▪ Sensor network capabilities
▪ High-g launch systems like mortars, howitzer, rockets, missiles etc.
▪ Hardening electronics
▪ Modern data management
▪ Remote controllability
▪ Camouflage, decoy and spoofing options
in an innovative manner by designing generic mechanical, electronical and software interfaces to operate an arbitrary composition of devices seamlessly.

After deploying the carrier vessel, the system allows to elevate and rotate the payload by a patented mast system in combination with a pan-tilt unit (PTU), if required by the situation or the environment. The additional elevation/positioning provides an operational advantage for sensors, effectors and antennas likewise. RADEMIS focusses on solutions with a low signature like passive sensor systems and active electronic devices (spoofer, jammer, decoy, laser) functioning as effectors.

The project addresses the full scale of military operational and technical requirements such as robustness, speed of intervention, interoperability, mobility, availability, security and full coverage of the targeted domain by sensor readings. Due to its modular setup, the targeted devices will combine a high versatility (multi-mission capability) with easy handling by the end-users and a range of potential applications also in the civil domain (contaminated areas, wildfires).