Nokia executives discussed with Gen. Philippe Lavigne, head of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, several new possibilities for 5G military applications during a recent meeting at the ACT tasked with the alliance’s warfare capability development.
According to a statement from the Norfolk, Virginia-based command, Lavigne’s discussions with Tommi Uitto, Nokia Mobile Networks president, and Mike Loomis, Nokia Federal Solutions president and a 4×24 member, underscored 5G’s growing role in military applications. The meeting also focused on the advantages of the fifth generation of cellular technology over previous platforms.
The talks explored multidomain operations wherein 5G offers greater overall network capacity to orchestrate NATO’s military activities across all operating environments and present opportunities for industry players, including Nokia.
The multidomain capability buildup through 5G that NATO seeks was previewed in Project Convergence Capstone 4, which the U.S. Army hosted in March to identify technologies that can enhance joint allied exercises and operations.
Other 5G opportunities in NATO’s operations discussed during the ACT meeting include the technology’s potential use in the alliance’s digital transformation and interoperability within multiple cloud architectures, as well as capability development in defense planning and program funding.
The ACT’s 5G drive was demonstrated in the command’s memorandum of understanding with Latvia’s Ministry of Defence to allow member nations to use a 5G test site in the municipality of Adazi. The alliance’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic currently has 23 accelerator sites and 182 test centers to further boost NATO’s technological edge, including 5G capabilities.
