Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), AT&T and Fujitsu recently demonstrated 5G-enabled intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in Northrop Grumman’s new 5G lab.
The demonstration integrated radios with Northrop Grumman’s tactical data links, AT&T’s private 5G network and Fujitsu’s Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) to transmit ISR data and video, proving strength in connecting the battlespace. This is a critical step in building the digital battle network to support multi-domain operations.
Last spring, Northrop Grumman and AT&T established a joint R&D agreement to build a digital battle network powered by AT&T’s commercial 5G network and Northrop Grumman’s portfolio of capabilities that are at the forefront of military technological advancement to enable the joint force.
The collaboration between Northrop Grumman, AT&T and Fujitsu is designed to drive innovation at speed to deliver a cost-effective, scalable, open architecture solution for the DoD. This approach can enable rapid deployment of new capabilities and shorten the decision-making timeline in a multi-domain, contested environment – a key component in laying the foundation for Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
“This demonstration showcased the benefits of commercially available 5G for the Department of Defense and the open, standards-based technologies that we’re exploring and developing as leaders in the O-RAN Alliance,” said Lance Spencer, client executive vice president, defense, public sector, AT&T.
“Open RAN is accelerating 5G innovations to deliver high-speed, low-latency requirements for mission-critical applications,” said Greg Manganello, senior vice president and vice head of the 5G mobile systems business unit at Fujitsu. “Our collaboration with Northrop Grumman and AT&T highlights the benefits of the ecosystem underpinning of Open RAN, enabling new configurations of mission-critical communications networks.”
