Background – Why 5G for Defence?
Current military communication systems are in many respects less advanced, have lower performance, and are less user friendly than state of the art civilian 5G technology. As a result, both Norway and Europe have set a strategic ambition to increasingly integrate 5G into defence operations and peacekeeping missions.
Requirements Beyond Civilian Use
Military users place additional demands on communication systems that surpass those specified for commercial networks. These include:
- Protection against jamming, eavesdropping, and detection
- High robustness and reliability
- Rapid deployment and relocation of tactical (private) networks
- Support for all branches of the armed forces (army, air force, and navy)
- Interoperability with existing military communication systems
- Seamless communication between multinational forces in international operations
- Compatibility with the Home Guard and civilian emergency agencies during national crises
Within the project, the requirements defined by European Armed Forces for mobile networks will be compared with what 5G can deliver through 3GPP standardization. Candidate solutions will be evaluated and validated through physical testing and demonstrations.
About the Project
5G Compad 2.0 builds on the previous 5G Compad project which concluded in 2025. Several activities continue into this new phase, complemented by an extended technological scope that includes:
- 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
- Network-as-a-Sensor concepts
- Advanced 5G based positioning
The project has a total budget of approximately €38 million and is led by Saab. It brings together 18 participants and three subcontractors from 13 countries.
Norwegian Participation
Norway is represented by SINTEF, Telenor, and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA). SINTEF's main contributions focus on:
- 5G positioning
- Robustness against jamming and spoofing
- Development of Minimum Viable Solutions (MVS) for military applications
Image: AI-generated with Google Gemini