Miles Jamison 
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract to Nokia Federal Solutions, Skydweller Aero and Tangram Flex to demonstrate a rapid-deployment airborne private network.
Register for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 29, where Steve Vogelsang, chief technology officer of Nokia Federal Solutions, one of the sponsors of the GovCon event, will discuss the use of 5G and FutureG in defense.
Described as a flying 5G cell tower, the network is designed to provide flexible communications support for military and potential commercial operations, Nokia Federal Solutions said Wednesday.
What Is the Rapid-Deployment Airborne Network?
The Instantaneous Network Infrastructure: Rapid-Deployment of Airborne Private Network on Uncrewed Perpetual Flight Platform is an initiative that employs a modular architecture built on open standards, including the Open Mission Systems framework and the Universal Command and Control Interface, to enable software-defined networking across manned, unmanned, and attritable platforms. The approach may support future Joint All-Domain Command and Control initiatives.
Funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory under a Small Business Innovation Research contract, the work will continue through 2027 and could have applications beyond defense, including emergency response in infrastructure-constrained environments.
What Will Each Partner Provide for the Contract?
As part of the effort, Nokia Federal Solutions’ 5G network technology will be hosted aboard Skydweller Aero’s Perpetual Flight solar-powered aircraft, which features high payload capacity and extreme endurance, supporting a modular airborne communications hub. Tangram Flex will provide interoperability software to ensure compatibility with current and future military systems.
“Nokia’s 5G technology was built for dynamic, high-performance operations. Integrating it with Skydweller’s perpetual aircraft enables an entirely new class of airborne network capability that is continuous, flexible, and ready to connect forces faster than ever,” said Scott Ferguson, chief revenue officer of Nokia Federal Solutions.
