Defense Science Board Task Force: Defense Applications of 5G Network Technology

Emerging 5G network technology offers the Department of Defense DoD access to advanced communications and networking with much improved data rates, lower latency, and significant potential energy savings over existing 4G networks. The integration of 5G technology could give DoD an opportunity to adopt at lower cost the benefits of these systems for operational needs. Improved commercially available 5G technology offers DoD many operational benefits but also presents new challenges in cyber security, spectrum management and network optimization. The Defense Science Board DSB Quick Task Force TF on Defense Applications of 5G Network Technology was established to define a path for potential DoD 5G adoption that mitigates supply chain risk, establishes spectrum co-existence procedures and revamps existing communication infrastructure. The DSB report on Defense Applications of 5G Network Technology concludes that there can be significant benefits from using 5G technology in the DoD but inherent supply chain, cyber, Radio Frequency RFElectronic Warfare EW and virtualphysical vulnerabilities create significant mission risk. Any deployment of 5G in DoD infrastructure must be measured against mission criticality and acceptable risk. This executive summary reviews TF findings and recommendations considered necessary for a successful 5G DoD deployment.