Data security remains an issue of the utmost concern in contested environments.
Mechanisms such as data encryption, beam-forming antennas, and frequency-hopping
radio have emerged to mitigate some of the concerns in radio-frequency (RF)
communications, but they do not remove all risk. Consequently, there is still a
consistent appetite for alternative solutions.
This paper presents a case for the use of the free-space optical (FSO)
communications technology ImpLi-Fi as one such alternative. FSO communication is
promising because of the ease with which the signal beam may be steered and
limited, making detection and interception more difficult than with RF, and
ImpLi-Fi in particular is desirable for its exceptional outdoor performance and
ease of integration into existing light sources. The paper briefly illustrates
the origins of the contested logistics (CL) problem and CL use cases for secure
communication channels, before describing the ImpLi-Fi technology in some
detail; exploring how its field deployment might look, including a telling
example with a handheld transmitter device; and foretelling additional potential
areas of application. Throughout the paper, ImpLi-Fi is shown to have remarkably
high potential utility in contested logistics and beyond.