Lockheed Martin secures government 5G communications pact

Lockheed Martin has secured a Prototype Project Agreement (PPA) to create a 5G communications network infrastructure testbed for expeditionary operations experimentation slated to aid two military entities.

The $19.3 million Lockheed Martin pact with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E) and the Marine Corps would result in the Open Systems Interoperable and Reconfigurable Infrastructure Solution (OSIRIS).

OSIRIS would help OUSD R&E and the Marine Corps in fielding, scaling, and integrating 5G technology across all operations on land, water, in air, space, and cyber.

“OSIRIS will serve as a critical proof point of Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL capabilities,” Lockheed Martin Spectrum Convergence Vice President Deon Viergutz said. “We are integrating the technical capabilities of 5G waveforms, software, and hardware with higher bandwidth and low-latency data rates into our defense products to enhance their performance for our warfighters. We want to ensure that warfighters operating in communications contested and denied environments have resilient access to data to perform their missions anywhere in the world.”

The testbed will aid in identifying areas for further compatibility between 5G network and Department of Defense platforms to improve capabilities. Infrastructure will enable the connection of varied 5G-ready user devices and sensors and explore the military utility of commercial 5G technologies.