Lockheed Martin and Verizon collaborate on 5G to connect wireless network technology and military datalinks

Nov. 12, 2021
Project seeks to expand military tactical datalinks connected through 5G, and explore hybrid public and private communications networking.

BETHESDA, Md. – The world’s largest defense contractor is working with the largest wireless provider in the United States to develop technology for a military 5G mobile network. American Military News reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

12 Nov. 2021 -- The agreement between Lockheed Martin Corp. and Verizon comes after the two companies linked a commercial 5G mobile wireless network with a military communications network used by fighter jets to send and receive targeting coordinates.

The test’s secret sauce is a special Lockheed-made communications gateway that enables the two networks to connect to one another. In many cases, military weapons use disparate military datalinks, which are specialized modems that cannot connect to one another. The gateway acts as a translator between these different networks.

The Lockheed-Verizon agreement is largely focused on research-and-development, but it could expand in the future.

Related: U.S. Space Force reaches out to industry for companies able to adapt 5G wireless networking to space uses

Related: What 5G means to the military

Related: Company to develop enabling technologies for 100-gigabit-per-second wireless data link

John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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