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The U.S. Air Force is developing a software-based system that will allow aircrews to diagnose and predict equipment failure with greater speed and accuracy, keeping more aircraft in the air, not the hangar. In a renewed effort to maintain operational readiness through enhanced systems integration, the service is emphasizing the need for greater precision and efficiency across the spectrum of aviation maintenance.

What began accidentally could be the foundation for a revolutionary approach to optical data storage. By enhancing and controlling fluorescence exhibited by nanoparticles, scientists can rapidly switch the particle colors on and off, creating robust nanoscopic storage elements that can pack a large amount of data in a small amount of space.

Virtually every piece of military electronics hardware, from the simplest handheld personal computing assistant to the most powerful mainframe computer, faces the challenge of interoperability to fit into the U.S. Defense Department's Global Information Grid. Designed as the ultimate military networking project, the grid is a cornerstone for achieving the information superiority outlined in the department's Joint Vision 2010 and Joint Vision 2020.

The U.S. Defense Department is refocusing efforts to protect military communications from computer network threats. By shifting its network operations emphasis from exclusively defensive to a more offensive stance, the government seeks to ensure the integrity of coalition operations. Preparations for projecting a greater disruptive potential to adversaries are underway.

Although experts agree that the vast majority of future military operations will be fought by joint forces, the U.S. military's information technology continues to be somewhat fragmented. To take advantage of all the benefits of information operations during a mission, systems used by all the forces and at all levels must be able to talk to each other. Numerous technologies have been developed that enable this capability; however, the challenge is larger than technology.

Discussions between commercial and government organizations about spectrum management are coming to a head as third-generation wireless devices that combine today's desktop terminal features and functions in a shirt-pocket-sized handset are poised to enter the marketplace. This communications evolution poses some critical issues for regulators as well as the military. Experts not only must confront the traditional spectrum allocation challenges, but they also must consider separation, partitioning, sharing and reallocation. The policy issue may reduce itself, on the one hand, to minimizing the costs of securing new spectrum for third-generation devices and, on the other hand, to the desire for greater global harmonization.

Advances in miniaturization, integration and energy management show that a complete wireless sensor/communication system can be merged into a package the size of a grain of sand and networked. Applications are far-reaching-from military sensor networks to industrial quality control.

An experimental radio technology may provide a more efficient means of alleviating bandwidth congestion in wireless communications. Operating at lower power than most radio devices, time-modulated ultrawideband technology fuses communications, radar and tracking capabilities into one piece of hardware that can deliver improved performance while remaining compatible with most legacy and commercial off-the-shelf systems.

From clay tablets to magnetic tape, civilizations have found ways to store important information; however, the silicon revolution has led to an overabundance of data. While existing electronic media have kept pace with this demand, new technologies could offer massive storage coupled with fast retrieval.

Although it is not as glamorous as smart weapons or miniaturized sensors, data storage is emerging as an increasingly important issue in the U.S. military. As the services continue to move toward a networked force, U.S. Defense Department leaders are beginning to pay close attention to how and where to store the data and images that sophisticated technologies are gathering in enormous quantities. After all, it not only has to be kept somewhere, but it also must be readily accessible to be valuable.