JULY/AUGUST AIRFORCEMAG.COM Photo: A1C Caitlin RussellA1C Angelo Trent views a portable maintenance aid during exercise Patriot Grizzly at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San
Diego. 5G wireless networks would deliver dramatically increased data rates to flight line equipment.S
ometimes the most valuable military assets
are those you can’t see. at may be the
case with 5G—the lightning-fast, next-gen-
eration wireless network technologies
that commercial network providers such
as Verizon and AT&T are now bringing
online.
5G is more than a better, faster cell phone net-
work. It’s a transformative data-sharing and com-
munications capability that will radically increase
bandwidth and speed, enabling nascent technol-
ogies such as artificial intelligence to deliver their
full potential over wireless connections. That means
enhanced command and control and situational
awareness for everything from driverless technol-
ogy and improved traffic flow to predictive main-
tenance and high-fidelity simulation and training.
5G employs compression technology and high-
speed transmission to increase wireless network
speeds twentyfold over today’s 4G LTE networks.
That kind of performance will reduce latency, or
lag time, which is what makes real-time uses like
driverless cars possible.
The challenges are as great as the opportunities,
however. In the United States, commercial 5G
technology is for now restricted to millimeter-waveFast-Forward with
5G
“Our base
areas, we
tell them,
are pretty
large—it’s
not just on
the flight
line, it’s a
big, huge
circle.”
—Frank
Konieczny, the
Air Force’s chief
technology
oicerThe next generation of wireless networks is coming.
By Rachel S. Cohen
USAF and Verizon Will Bring
5G Networks to 10 Bases
Beginning SoonMoody AFB (ACC)Dobbins ARB (AFRC)Seymour Johnson AFB (ACC)JB Charleston (AMC)Shaw AFB (ACC)
McEntire JNGB (ANG)
Robins AFB (AFMC)Tyndall AFB (ACC)Arnold AFB (AFMC)N.C.Ga.S.C.Tenn.Fla.Ind.Grissom ARB (AFRC)Major Active, Guard,
and Reserve Air Force
Bases in the US
Active
Reserve
Guard