Lockheed Martin and Radisys, a specialist in open telecom solutions, have established an enterprise agreement for use of Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) software in Lockheed Martin’s 5G products for the military, dubbed 5G.MIL.
According to a Lockheed Martin release, the agreement includes development of critical capabilities like 5G-enabled wireless relay and Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB). Wireless relay to global network infrastructure is an important part of tactical communication when warfighters operate in places where wired interconnections are not possible or are cost prohibitive, Lockheed Martin said.
The firm also noted that the pace and scale of 5G deployment increases the demand for wireless relays as an alternative to fiber backhaul solutions. Lockheed Martin and Radisys are working together to accelerate 5G capabilities into Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL Hybrid Base Station to use within military tactical networks. Radisys’ Connect 5G Software Suite is compliant to 3GPP Release 16, and it delivers enhancements in functionality, capacity, coverage, latency, mobility and reliability to support the requirements of diverse 5G applications.
“With key collaborators such as Radisys, we can accelerate development and deployment of 5G.MIL network capabilities that benefit our defense and national security customers,” said Dan Rice, vice president, 5G.MIL Programs at Lockheed Martin. “Resilient mesh communications create a network effect that raises the deterrence capability of U.S. and coalition forces, while improving battlefield effectiveness, should deterrence fail.”
“Lockheed Martin’s expertise building systems and platforms that operate in the toughest environments matches our decades-long commitment to connect the furthest stretches of the world together,” said Munish Chhabra, head of Software and Services Business, Radisys. “By providing access to our industry-leading Connect RAN protocol software that is compliant to 3GPP specification and O-RAN architectures, we are helping to enable Lockheed Martin to develop 5G.MIL solutions aligned to their customers’ specific requirements.”
Radisys and Lockheed Martin have previously worked together on wireless mobility, including providing key technology to enable what it claimed to be the world’s first commercial LTE-over-Satellite system.
Lockheed Martin and Verizon had signed an agreement to collaborate on 5G.MIL technologies that will provide ultra-secure, reliable connections for U.S. Department of Defense systems spanning air, land, sea, space and cyber domains and establishes a joint research and development lab framework to prototype, demonstrate and test 5G.MIL technologies
