Lockheed Martin and Verizon will combine their expertise and network structures to provide ultra-secure 5G solutions for the Department of Defense to meet future requirements for tactical operations in the continuing digital era.
A strategic relationship agreement between Verizon and Lockheed Martin seeks to bring innovations in 5G technologies to the US Department of Defense. By establishing a joint research and development lab framework, the two organizations will prototype, test, and demonstrate ultra-secure 5G.MIL solutions.
The two organizations bring different areas of expertise and strengths into the relationship. Verizon has decades of experience building networks and expertise in building out high-performance 5G wideband solutions with mobile edge computing capability. These capabilities will be complemented by Lockheed Martin’s knowledge of Department of Defense needs. The project, 5G.MIL, will build an all-domain operations environment suitable for military defense movements and planning.
The organizations will bring together high-tech platforms. Air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains will all connect in one operational environment. Tests and deployments will enable further innovation in both products and technologies designed specifically for secure, resilient military use.
See also: Protecting 5G Managed Services from DDoS, Exfiltration
Ultra-secure 5G to enable digital transformation
Connecting 5G, NextG, and DOD networks, government and military officials will be able to communicate, plan, launch, and scale operations. The solution combines commercial technology with specific military enhancements.
At a joint demonstration in November 2021, initial tests showed successful interoperability between Lockheed Martin’s open tactical gateway solutions and Verizon’s On Site 5G network technology. Tests used Verizon private 5G networks and connected Lockheed Martin’s 5G test range in Colorado with a center in Texas.
The partners are confident that this combination of expertise and network structure will provide solutions for the Department of Defense and its future requirements for tactical operations in the continuing digital era. The chance to connect and scale operations through secure networks is a valuable advantage for the Department of Defense as it manages not only physical locations but cyber ones as well.
The thrust of this program is to meet the secure communication demands of the military. However, long-term, the innovations and technologies that come out of the effort could make their way into commercial use, as has been the case with other security technologies in the past.
