Nokia, Ericsson, Thales join EU-backed 5G Compad defence project

A new project dubbed 5G Compad (5G Communications for Peacekeeping and Defence) said it has secured EUR 27 million from the European Defence Fund (EDF) to develop, prototype and test the architecture of communication systems for European defence forces based on 5G technology. The project was launched during a meeting in Stockholm last month with the participation of the European Commission, Member States representatives and an industrial consortium made up of leading 5G vendors, technology companies, SMEs, defence system integrators, research institutes and mobile network operators from 11 EU member states and Norway. 

The project consortium members are Saab, Ericsson, Rheinmetall, Bittium, Nokia, Thales, Leonardo, Inster, Eightbells, Intracom Defense, CAFA Tech, Telenor, SINTEF, FFI (NO Gov), LMT, AIT, Synkzone, BHE and APR Technologies, plus ten European governments and defence ministries. 

5G Compad will be ongoing for 36 months, during which participants will prototype, test and demonstrate the operational capabilities of 5G integrated with several defence platforms and systems. The aim is to show how commercial mobile communications technology can support sustained information and operational superiority for the success of European defence forces, with the project also addressing the increased need for high-level cyber and information security.

In a statement, the project organisers said expected outcomes include strengthened resilience and technological sovereignty of the EU, information superiority, increased tactical interoperability of European defence forces leading to reinforced innovation leadership of the European industry.