5G Technology Is Going To Transform the Department of Defense

By the end of the decade, experts say, 5G is going to transform the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

From the rear echelon to the forward operating base, and from the back office to the front lines, there isn’t a single service member anywhere in the DoD’s huge global organization who won’t be able to do more, and do it better, because of the revolutionary power of 5G.

More than just a new standard, 5G is a platform that provides secure, flexible and always-on broadband connectivity across the DoD’s global network, making it possible to build out a new generation of cloud-based and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technologies that are already being developed and deployed in the commercial sector.

Use Case: Life and Death
One of the many 5G use cases the DoD is interested in is telemedicine to improve warfighter survivability, said Christopher Yaw, vice president of end-to-end solutions for the Ericsson Federal Technologies Group—a U.S.-controlled subsidiary of the 140-year-old Swedish telecommunications giant.

“5G in emergency response vehicles means all the equipment being used to diagnose and treat the patient is connected,” Yaw said. “The surgeon or other staff awaiting their arrival can see their vitals, any X-rays or other diagnostic images, see whatever drugs or other care is administered. If there’s a video camera in the vehicle, they can see the patient. They may be able to advise on treatment.”

That’s especially important because, in a major war with a peer competitor, the U.S. military may have to change its battlefield triage practice, according to research by U.S. Army medical leaders. Casualty evacuation may be delayed or may be impossible, making connectivity to medical practitioners in the rear echelon doubly valuable, Yaw said.

In trauma cases, seconds count, and on the front line, first responders may not have more than basic medical training.

“The 5G platform gives you that broadband connection to medical expertise, no matter where it is,
and gives you the tools, like augmented reality (AR) headsets, so you can start lifesaving treatment right away,” Yaw said.

Connectivity in contested environments is always a risk-based decision, Yaw added, because increased connectivity likely means an increased cyber and electronic warfare attack surface, and it might make the enemy’s targeting easier.

“That’s something commanders have to consider at a tactical level, looking at the trade-offs in each engagement,” he said.

But at a strategic level, adopting 5G means the DoD can benefit from the billions of dollars being invested in the commercial telecoms sector to develop new software applications and hardware devices that take advantage of the novel characteristics of this new platform, Yaw said.

“The emergency vehicles use case is a working program today in New York ambulances,” he pointed out. “The technology is operational, right now.”

5G in the Homeland: Broadband for the Masses
For the DoD, another potential benefit of 5G is the ability to bring high-capacity networks to military bases, even in very isolated geographical locations.

“A big military base is basically a town or a city,” Yaw said. “It has a fire station, it has schools, hospitals, power distribution grids and traffic systems. In the civilian world, all of that is being transformed by the smart cities revolution.”

5G platforms enable new smart city technologies to digitize our urban spaces. ​​Real-time communication between traffic sensors, roadside cameras and stoplight control systems means AI programs can manage traffic flow efficiently. For instance, using adaptive stoplights that vary their cycles in response to real-time traffic conditions reduces congestion and improves commute times.

Building out 5G as part of DoD base modernization projects will be the key that unlocks a world of these new benefits, Yaw said. And emerging AI capabilities for 5G management will optimize spectrum utilization, service quality and platform resiliency.

“5G doesn’t just give the service member new tools for the office and the foxhole; it also can help optimize operations, reduce maintenance costs and ensure the whole community has access to the top-of-the-line broadband resources everyone needs these days in their homes, schools and workplaces,” he said.

5G at the Edge: Overcoming the Tyranny of Distance
But extending commercial 5G networks to bases in the United States is only one of the ways 5G is going to transform the DoD.

Crucially, “5G is the first generation of commercial cellular technology that DoD really trusts is secure enough for it to adopt,” Yaw said.

While the DoD utilizes 3G and 4G networks, it doesn’t operate them as part of its core communication technology. Now, the DoD is planning to include 5G as primary and alternate, not just emergency, in its primary, alternate, contingency, emergency (PACE) communications plans.

“For a long time, cellular networks were kind of like a black box,” he explained, highly specialized technology with “a very centralized hub-and-spoke architecture.”

With 5G, local networks can be deployed quickly and easily “out of the box,” Yaw said, which makes the 5G platform a critical technology for future operations in the vast and far-flung Indo-Pacific theater where the tyranny of distance and the need for flexible deployment mean that units will constantly operate at the network’s edge.

The Air Force’s new concept of operations  of agile combat employment eschews large well-developed bases—and the big targets they represent—in favor of multiple quick deployments to “pop-up” airfields scattered across the Pacific Ocean’s thousands of islands.

Use Case: Network in a Box
5G’s manageable, standards-based architecture makes it ideally suited for private networks, like those needed for pop-up bases, Yaw said.

“As long as the spectrum is there, you can bring your own network with you, and once it’s up, any authorized device can connect,” he explained.

That capability will be essential for agile combat employment, which demands swift refuel/replenishment turnarounds, and the highest possible efficiency from the Air Force’s maintainers.  

Data-driven maintenance tools feed readings from the aircraft to maintainers on the ground, Yaw explained.

“What that means is, before the plane has taxied to a halt, they already know if they need to replace any parts; they already know which parts they should inspect for wear and tear,” he said.

Using AR headsets, they can see which panels to open, what other components must be moved to get at a part, and how wear and tear on it should be assessed.

Similar applications convey fuel and other requirements (water, food, supplies) from a ship to personnel in a port as the vessel approaches shore and comes within range of the network.

Because 5G is a global standard, adopting it will also help interoperability with foreign allies, Yaw said.

“Network interoperability has proved very challenging in coalition operations over the years,” he said.

Yaw noted that the military’s vision for 21st century warfare, Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), had recently been rechristened CJADC2, adding the term coalition to make it clear it was a multinational strategy.

Use Case: Foreign Object Detection
The edge computing capability 5G brings will also make possible a new generation of AI-powered applications.

“Take a mission like foreign object detection (FOD) on a runway,” Yaw said, pointing out that something as small as a tire lug nut could cause terminal damage if sucked into a jet engine. “Right now, service members link arms and walk along the runway, eyes down.”

With drones feeding imagery to AI programs, objects could be identified for a single service member to retrieve or even be dealt with by small autonomous cleanup vehicles the Air Force is developing called “FOD dogs,” a kind of Roomba for runways.

Other AI-powered 5G use cases range from alternative/renewable energy integration to force protection, personnel wellness and disaster management.

Yaw said these sorts of high-bandwidth, low-latency applications are possible in combination with 5G as a manageable transport.

“I can prioritize resources and data. These applications, or these categories of data, get special treatment based on mission needs,” Yaw said. “The others have to wait.”

“The beauty of 5G,” Yaw concluded, “is that it brings all this computing power, all this network connectivity, all this bandwidth right out to where it’s needed, right out to the edge, to where the boots are on the ground, the ships are on the sea and the planes are in the air.”

For more information: ericssonfederal.com/