A Hybrid, Large-scale Wireless Sensor Network for Missile Defense

Abstract

We introduce a hybrid, large-scale wireless sensor network (WSN) for missile defense that consists of terrestrial and satellite nodes. Rather than treating each node as an individual system, we model this sensor network as a system-of-systems with the objective of realtime tracking of multiple ballistic missile threats. We present a hybrid routing algorithm based on a combination of data centric routing concepts and clustering mechanisms. Through simulation, it is shown that the performance of this hybrid algorithm significantly improves data throughput without sacrificing the real-time data delivery requirements associated with missile tracking applications.