{"id":50108,"date":"2022-12-22T15:44:10","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T15:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/12\/22\/us-air-force-sees-5g-as-one-of-many-connectors-on-future-battlefields\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:28:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:28:54","slug":"us-air-force-sees-5g-as-one-of-many-connectors-on-future-battlefields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/12\/22\/us-air-force-sees-5g-as-one-of-many-connectors-on-future-battlefields\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force sees 5G as one of many connectors on future battlefields"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Department of the Air Force considers 5G a promising avenue for communication \u2014 but far from the only one \u2014 on future battlefields, amid a Pentagon-wide push to keep forces connected across vast distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some consider the fifth generation of wireless technologies<\/a> as extraordinary, Jay Bonci, the department\u2019s chief technology officer, sees it as an additional means of connectivity, or another arrow in the quiver of military networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bandwidth provider. It\u2019s got some interesting technologies, in future tranches, that we\u2019re looking at for military utility,\u201d Bonci said Dec. 14 during a livestreamed C4ISRNET event. \u201cBut our standing position is it is a part of \u2018connect,\u2019 the same way fiber works, same way Wi-Fi works. And we\u2019ll continue to think about it in those regards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon has invested billions in 5G \u2014 with its 2020 strategy recognizing it as \u201cfar more disruptive\u201d than its predecessors, such as 4G \u2014 and in recent years established test beds<\/a> at a dozen military installations. Bonci described the Defense Department as having \u201cspecial emphasis\u201d on 5G, adding that the Air and Space forces are \u201canswering the mail on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5G pledges exponentially faster speeds as well as capacity to accommodate more and more-advanced devices, which can pay dividends for defense, health care, logistics and more. But 5G that lives up to the hype has yet to arrive for many; the sluggish rollout is often blamed on squabbles between industry and lawmakers over the designation of space on public airwaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are here at kind of the early days of 5G,\u201d Bonci said<\/a>. \u201cEveryone recognizes the potential of a more-connected military to be able to do great things and we\u2019re, again, working through these elements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t