Nokia extended a partnership with a US Air Force base to explore whether the nation’s military radar can coexist with commercial 5G networks operating in the same spectrum.

The test with the Hill Air Force Base and US government’s National Spectrum Consortium employed Nokia open RAN technology.

Michael Loomis, GM at Nokia Federal Solutions, stated the test used the vendor’s RAN intelligent controller (RIC).

The project is part of a wider effort by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defence Research and Engineering to create its first tranche of 5G wireless testbeds.

Hill Air Force Base inaugurated what it stated was the first fully-functioning 5G network at a US military site in early December 2021, part of a Department of Defence research programme into dynamic spectrum use.

At the time, the base explained the standalone 5G network focused on spectrum sharing in the 3.1GHz to 3.45GHz range employed by land, air and sea radars “and air defence systems”.