The Interconnected Battlefield: Optimizing Systems Beyond Standard D38999

Modern defense platforms are no longer isolated systems. They are high-bandwidth nodes in a joint network spanning air, land, sea, space and cyber domains, and the connectors holding it all together are being pushed to their limits.

The increasing prevalence of high-speed Ethernet in defense is pushing the boundaries of the tried and true circular D38999 connector. Military jets are becoming increasingly interconnected with edge computing devices, sensors, communication equipment and cameras via high-speed Ethernet. This is being replicated in other military assets, such as armored ground vehicles, artillery and command centers, as we move closer to the envisioned interconnected battlefield. The industry standard D38999, which has been around for decades, is starting to show its limitations when it comes to high-speed data signals.