SNS Telecom & IT‘s latest research report indicates that cumulative spending on private 5G networks in the defence sector will reach $2.5 billion between 2026 and 2029.
The military has a longstanding history of using wireless communications, and some of the most significant wireless-related innovations of the 20th century originated in the defence sector. With significant advances in COTS (Commercial Off-the-Shelf) technology over the past two decades, there has been a growing focus on complementing proprietary solutions with 3GPP standards-based networks to deliver both local and wide area coverage for capabilities extending from smart base operations and tactical networking to ISAC (Integrated Sensing & Communications)-enabled sensing for counter-drone protection. Although public networks running over national mobile operator-owned RAN and core infrastructure are widely utilised for personal connectivity and non-sensitive IoT applications, defence sector stakeholders are increasingly turning their attention to exclusive-use, private 5G networks tailored to specific operational requirements in terms of security, access control, customisation and specialised feature support.
Spearheaded by initiatives such as the United States DOW’s (Department of War) FutureG program, South Korean Ministry of National Defence’s private 5G project for unmanned and remote operations, United Kingdom MOD’s (Ministry of Defence) Project Morpheus, German Army’s D-LBO (Digitalisation of Land-Based Operations), Spanish Air & Space Force’s BACSI (Connected, Sustainable & Intelligent Air Base), Italian Ministry of Defence’s DII (Defence Information Infrastructure), EU-funded 5G COMPAD 2.0 (5G Communications for Peacekeeping & Defence), NATO’s MN5G (Multinational Collaboration on 5G) and DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic), armed forces around the globe are actively investing in both permanent and transportable private 5G networks for warfighters at the tactical edge, military bases and training facilities. The U.S. military, for instance, has multiple deployments across the continental United States and overseas, including operational networks for the Indo-Pacific and Africa Commands. Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Türkiye, Ukraine, Russia, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Brazil are among the other countries where experimental and operational networks have been deployed, operating in spectrum ranging from sub-1 GHz frequencies to bands n78 (3.5 GHz), n77 (3.7 GHz) and n79 (4.4-5 GHz), as well as mmWave bands.
The expanding influence of private networks is also evident from the recent use of rapidly deployable cellular systems for enhanced communications in military exercises such as the JIFX (Joint Interagency Field Experimentation) program hosted by the Naval Postgraduate School; Washington Air National Guard’s Exercise Phoenix Dawn; Italian Navy’s OPEX (Operational Experimentation) 2-25 in the Gulf of Taranto; German Army’s urban warfare training drills; Norwegian military’s Joint Viking exercise in the Arctic Circle; SABAK, a joint exercise of the Philippine Army and USARPAC (U.S. Army Pacific) forces; U.S. Marine Corps’ Steel Knight and ITX (Integrated Training Exercise); JGSDF’s (Japan Ground Self-Defence Force) Nankai Rescue disaster response training drill; and REPMUS, an unmanned systems experimentation exercise led by the Portuguese Navy.
SNS Telecom & IT’s “Private 5G/4G Cellular Networks for Defence: 2026 – 2030” report projects that global spending on private 5G and 4G LTE networks in the defence sector will grow at a CAGR of 24% over the next three years, collectively accounting for nearly $2.5 billion in cumulative investments between 2026 and 2029. For more information, please visit: https://www.snstelecom.com/defence.
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