Open RAN Tested for Digital Battle Network by AT&T, Fujitsu and Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman, which opened a 5G lab in San Diego last year, is now testing 5G private wireless and open RAN with AT&T and Fujitsu.
  

“We demonstrated a 5G open RAN core in a closed system in a lab,” explained Lance Spencer, client executive vice president – defense, AT&T.

He said the team is conducting additional experiments with the goal of scaling the system, which is being used to transmit intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data over 5G. Spencer said connected IoT devices were not part of the demo.

“Enabling 5G connectivity for our warfighters across domains will help realize a connected battlespace for the joint force,” said Northrop Grumman’s Ben Davies, vice president and general manager, networked information solutions division, in a statement. He said his company is working with AT&T to “bring together the high speeds, low latency and cybersecurity protections of private 5G networks with the flexibility and scalability of commercial 5G capabilities.”

The contractor explained that its 5G systems are meant to support multi-domain operations (MDO), a military term for presenting an enemy with a number of independent threats simultaneously. According to Northrop Grumman, 5G networks can help the military deploy new capabilities, make decisions faster, and respond more quickly to adversaries.

AT&T’s Spencer described the demonstration as spectrum agnostic. “We believe it is in the Department of Defense (DoD)’s interests to use commercially licensed spectrum to the greatest extent possible,” he said. “Commercial spectrum can provide DoD robust, reliable and resilient network access, simplified delivery, and agility and scalability characteristics that are unavailable via other spectrum approaches."

Last year Northrop Grumman and AT&T agreed to collaborate on research and development to build a digital battle network using AT&T’s commercial 5G network and some of the defense contractor's military technology. 

"This demonstration showcased the benefits of commercially available 5G for the DoD and the open, standards-based technologies that we’re exploring and developing as leaders in the O-RAN Alliance,” said Spencer. AT&T is a founding member of the O-RAN Alliance.