AT&T participated in a demonstration involving the secure transmission of classified military data for aircraft maintenance across multiple locations using 5G.

The operator partnered with aerospace and defence technology company Northrop Grumman and digital infrastructure outfit Secure EMP-Resilient Edge (SEMPRE) to demonstrate how aircraft maintenance could be enabled on an AR headset to reduce time and costs.

Northrop Grumman explained the demonstration employed its secure communications technology and an AR headset to transfer high volume, classified aircraft data across SEMPRE’s private and AT&T’s public 5G networks.

Data was transmitted over a distance just exceeding 1,600 miles.

The platform showcased how AR could be used to enable staff to perform tasks which were previously only possible using “information accessible only in a secure location”.

Lance Spencer, client executive VP for defence at AT&T, stated the demonstration highlighted the secure data-transmission potential of public and private 5G network combinations.

“The speed, security, reliability and scalability benefits are precisely what the Department [of Defence] seeks in its modernisation efforts,” he noted.