5G is a weapon. With mobile phones now the main source of communication, the Chinese Communist Party’s goal is to provide 5G infrastructure to countries around the world, creating vulnerabilities to intelligence gathering and disrupting the country’s critical communications and other infrastructure. It’s easily interrupted.
America is lagging behind in this wireless arms race, and the Department of Defense has a critical role to play moving forward.
More than five years ago, the Department of Defense recognized the military value of 5G, which enables seamless communication and control of everything from devices to people to machines. 5G moves large amounts of data quickly and securely, providing the foundation for accurate and rapid action and response. The problem was that his existing 5G infrastructure equipment was intended for commercial networks and was supplied by companies outside the United States. In 2020, to foster innovation and jump-start America’s 5G supply capacity, Congress appropriated $650 million to seed 12 5G pilot projects on U.S. military bases.
Two success stories stand out from these testbeds: Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia, and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. In Albany, pencil-and-clipboard processes will be replaced with self-guided material movers and automated inventory systems powered by 5G, increasing efficiency and inventory accuracy and freeing up service members for more important missions. Now it looks like this. At Whidbey, automated jet engine inspections and new refueling processes will run on his 5G, significantly reducing aircraft turnaround times.
Albany and Whidbey both use dedicated “private” 5G networks built with U.S. technology. This means that it is owned and operated by the Department of Defense independently of commercial cell phone networks. This technology provides two key elements required by the Department of Defense to ensure a secure and viable 5G supply chain: an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture and a software-based solution. O-RAN allows components from multiple vendors to work together as one network, ensuring that the Department of Defense is not locked into one supplier, making it a better choice for national and economic security. It is important. This software solution has the flexibility to scale from the command post to the entire base, which is also not possible with traditional mobile phone hardware.
In April 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “The Department of Defense is committed to working with the commercial sector to bring 5G to the warfighter and make the United States a world leader in 5G.” He testified.
With the December 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress is moving away from its reputation for being sharply partisan and introducing major legislation requiring all Department of Defense bases and facilities to deploy 5G O-RAN private radio networks customized for specific bases. The new policy was promoted on a bipartisan basis. ”There is a need for this.
All the ingredients are in place: proven U.S. 5G technology, the Department of Defense’s commitment to making the U.S. a world leader in 5G, and Congressional policy requiring private 5G networks on all military bases. The path for the United States to move forward in the 5G arms race with China is clear. The Department of Defense is leading the development of U.S. 5G capabilities and capacity as needed. From there, you can leverage our superior technology to win in the global market.
The next step is the most important. The U.S. military needs to develop requirements at each base so Congress can fully fund the initiative and accelerate its deployment.
Joe “Digger” Digard is a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, president of Diggerworks Consulting LLC, and senior director of government strategy at Ocean Power Technologies.
