Modernization Doctrine

Vigorously Building a Battlefield Internet of Things to Provide Materiel Support for the Efficient Operation of the Combat System

着力打造战场物联网，为作战体系的高效运转提供物资支撑

PLA Daily (解放军报) 9 August 2026

Summary

A PLA logistics doctrine article published in official military media argues for building a battlefield Internet of Things (战场物联网) to modernize materiel delivery, calling for ubiquitous sensing networks (泛在化感知网络), full-chain protection systems (全链路防护体系) with damage-resistant self-healing mechanisms (抗毁自愈机制), and a full-process data governance system (全流程数据治理体系) that feeds IoT sensor data directly into the operational closed loop (作战闭环). The article documents an ongoing PLA institutional push to reframe logistics as a data-driven, network-dependent function rather than a linear supply chain — a framing consistent with joint operations doctrine that treats sustainment as integral to the combat system rather than subordinate to it. No specific unit, program, or timeline is named, so the piece establishes the conceptual baseline the PLA is promoting to its logistics officer corps rather than evidencing a concrete capability or procurement decision.

Translation

As the saying goes, "Before the troops move, provisions go first (兵马未动，粮草先行)." No matter how the form of warfare evolves, battlefield materiel delivery has always been an important foundation for sustaining the operation of the combat system. In modern warfare, the tempo of operations has accelerated markedly and the scale of equipment and materiel consumption has continued to climb, placing higher demands on the timeliness and precision of battlefield materiel delivery. At the same time, the deployment of modern combat forces is gradually expanding into emerging domains, and materiel requirements across all operational domains exhibit a highly interconnected character. On this basis, it is imperative to vigorously build a battlefield Internet of Things (战场物联网), further broaden the boundaries of materiel coverage, raise the security level of delivery, and unlock the value of battlefield data, so as to provide solid materiel support for the efficient operation of the combat system.

Continuously expand coverage boundaries. The primary purpose of battlefield materiel delivery is to meet operational requirements. At present, new equipment, new platforms, and new weapons are emerging in an endless stream. This has not only brought about a rapid improvement in combat capabilities but has also caused battlefield materiel requirements to grow continuously and has placed demands on delivery precision. In this process, building a sound ubiquitous sensing network (泛在化感知网络) is a prerequisite for achieving "precision delivery (精准投送)." At the practical level, lightweight deployment of multi-modal sensor nodes can be advanced, employing sensing devices that are low-power, small in size, and highly adaptable to the environment, suited to the deployment requirements of different operational scenarios on land, at sea, and in the air, so that wherever battlefield requirements expand, materiel delivery coverage follows.

Persist in consolidating the protective barrier. In the age of cold steel, "cutting the enemy's supply lines and intercepting the enemy's materiel (断敌粮道，截敌物资)" was one of the important means of defeating the enemy, making materiel delivery channels a "target of all arrows (众矢之的)" on the battlefield. To this day, the widespread use of various high-precision strike weapons has made the vulnerability of battlefield materiel delivery even more pronounced. Therefore, a security mindset must be firmly established, and protective capabilities and Internet of Things capabilities must be upgraded in tandem. On one hand, security mechanisms must be embedded at the hardware design, protocol development, and system construction stages to build a full-chain protection system (全链路防护体系). On the other hand, a damage-resistant self-healing mechanism (抗毁自愈机制) must be established, with pre-configured multi-path communication redundancy and node backup schemes, so that when some nodes are damaged or links are interrupted, the remaining nodes can automatically form a network and autonomously reconfigure.

Better unlock the value of data. Building a battlefield Internet of Things requires not only attention to the development of hardware infrastructure but also the efficient circulation and deep utilization of data. The massive volumes of battlefield data collected by various sensing nodes constitute a "rich ore deposit (富矿)" containing battlefield information: they can display battlefield requirements, present the battlefield situation, and indicate the direction of the battle. This "rich ore" lies buried within complex and multifarious data and must undergo circulation, fusion, and transformation before it can become an effective driver for ensuring battlefield supply. On this basis, a full-process data governance system (全流程数据治理体系) can be established to unify data standards and regulate data ownership, ensuring the accuracy, consistency, and usability of collected data. The transformation chain from "data" to "action" can also be opened up, deeply connecting Internet of Things sensing data with other systems so that Internet of Things data directly serves the operational closed loop (作战闭环).

Original Chinese

正所谓“兵马未动，粮草先行”，无论战争形态如何演变，战场物资投送始终是维系作战体系运转的重要基础。现代战争中，作战节奏显著加快、装备物资消耗规模不断攀升，对战场物资投送的时效性、精准性提出了更高要求。与此同时，现代作战力量的部署逐渐向新兴领域拓展，各作战领域物资需求呈现出高度互联特征。基于此，必须着力打造战场物联网，进一步拓宽物资覆盖边界、提高投送安全水平、释放战场数据价值，为作战体系的高效运转提供坚实的物资支撑。不断拓展覆盖边界。战场物资投送的首要目的是为了满足作战需求。当前，新装备、新平台、新武器层出不穷，这既带来了作战能力的飞速提高，也使得战场物资的需求量不断加大，并对投送的精准度提出要求。在这个过程中，搭建良好的泛在化感知网络是实现“精准投送”的前提。在实践层面，可以推进多模态传感节点的轻量化部署，采用低功耗、小体积、强环境适应性的传感设备，适配陆地、海上、空中等不同作战场景的布设需求，做到战场需求拓展到哪里，物资投送就覆盖到哪里。坚持筑牢防护屏障。在冷兵器时代，“断敌粮道，截敌物资”是克敌制胜的重要手段之一，这使得物资投送渠道成为战场上的“众矢之的”。时至今日，各类高精度打击武器的广泛运用，使得战场物资投送的脆弱性更加凸显。因此，必须牢固树立安全理念，实现防护能力与物联能力同步升级。一方面要在硬件设计、协议开发、系统搭建阶段就嵌入安全机制，构建全链路防护体系。另一方面要建立抗毁自愈机制，预设多路径通信冗余与节点备份方案，当部分节点受损或链路中断时，剩余节点可自动组网、自主重构。更好释放数据价值。打造战场物联网不仅要注重硬件设施的发展，更要实现数据的高效流转与深度运用。各类感知节点所采集的海量战场数据，是一个蕴含战场信息的“富矿”：可以显示战场需求、呈现战场态势、昭示战局走向。这些“富矿”深藏在纷繁复杂的数据中，必须经过流转、融合、转化，才能成为保障战场补给的有效牵引。基于此，可以建立全流程数据治理体系，统一数据标准、规范数据权属，确保采集数据的准确性、一致性与可用性。还可以打通“数据”到“行动”的转化链路，将物联感知数据与其他系统深度对接，让物联数据直接服务于作战闭环。