21st Century Warfare Impossible Without 'New Internet'

The Department of Defense (DoD) is transitioning its information systems to Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), a sweeping change that technology insiders put on a par with Y2K.

DoD has decreed that its "Global Information Grid" be compatible with IPv6 by 2008. This year's defense appropriation spells out, for the first time, a roadmap for DoD's incremental adoption of the next-generation protocol. DoD must provide to Congress an IPv6 Test and Evaluation Plan by September 30.

The transition will top the agenda at the "Coalition Summit for IPv6," May 23-26, Reston, VA (http://www.usipv6.com). "The military's goal of 21st century network-centric warfare is impossible without IPv6," asserts summit chairman Alex Lightman. "2008 is our Y2K."