Telefonica Spain inked an agreement with aerospace giant Airbus to jointly develop 5G-based products and technology for use by the country’s armed forces.

In a statement, the operator explained the framework agreement was around a joint effort to integrate standalone 5G into aerospace platforms for the defence and security sector.

It will cover work for “strategic multi-domain operations” for the next five years.

Results of the collaboration are expected to contribute to wider digital adoption in the sector and will “allow both the improvement of the military capabilities of the armed forces and the development of tactical clouds”.

The deal is Telefonica’s latest pact in its home market shaped to develop and showcase 5G use cases across a number of vertical sectors.

Other moves include a trial of delivery drones in Madrid held in February and a pact earlier this year with Melia Hotels to develop use cases for network slicing in the hospitality segment.