Lockheed Martin will leverage Intel FlexRAN software reference architecture to enable new cloud computing capabilities at the edge
Intel is building 5G base stations in partnership with Lockheed Martin designed to support U.S. Defense Department secure communications across a variety of operational domains.
Intel software and hardware are already integrated into Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL Hybrid Base Station. Born from a partnership with Verizon, 5G.MIL provides a new level of cohesion for DoD operations by bringing together high-tech platforms into a network spanning air, land, sea, space and cyber domains and enabling interoperability between 5G networks, NextG networks and operational DoD networks.
The new partnership will allow Lockheed Martin to leverage Intel’s FlexRAN software reference architecture to enable new cloud computing capabilities at the edge to support “areas of tactical need.”
“This collaboration between Intel and Lockheed Martin will help accelerate delivery of secure 5G.MIL solutions to achieve network effects for our customers that will enable prompt, data-driven decisions by military commanders across all operational domains,” said Dan Rice, vice president of 5G.MIL Programs at Lockheed Martin, in a press statement. “As security risks evolve and opportunities to leverage 5G emerge, staying ahead of the threat landscape is more critical than ever.”
For Intel, this partnership is further evidence that 5G, and the company’s 5G solutions, can deliver “greater connectivity, faster and more reliable networks and new data capabilities” for enterprise, industrial and now tactical applications: “This shows how cloud, network and edge technologies that are proven in enterprise implementations can also bring significant value to the tactical needs of modern defense systems,” said Dan Rodriguez, corporate vice president at Intel.
The pair have worked together for more than a decade, and recently they used 5G-enabled ground vehicles to demonstrate how 5G and cloud capabilities can improve military personnel safety, and prior to that, they delivered a hardened security solution based on Intel’s 2nd Generation Xeon Scalable processors to better protect against cyber threats.
More broadly, the U.S. military has invested significantly in new and emerging technologies, including 5G and edge computing. In fact, according to reports, the DOD’s 2020 budget included more than $400 million dedicated to 5G-related work, and in 2021, the budget increased by another $250 million. This year’s budget includes nearly $600 million for 5G prototype and testing efforts.
When announcing one such investment, Michael Kratsios, who was at the time, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, commented: “The Department of Defense is at the forefront of cutting edge 5G testing and experimentation, which will strengthen our Nation’s warfighting capabilities as well as U.S. economic competitiveness in this critical field.”
