Expeditionary and Tactical Use (ETU)

Expeditionary and Tactical Use (ETU) advances FutureG technology to develop integrated heterogenous warfighting networks composed of commercial cellular and traditional military equipment. This heterogeneous warfighting network provides the scalability, security, resilience, and interoperability required to execute Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) with our allies and partners.

Delivering Information Advantage to the Warfighter

We Aim To:

Enable heterogenous network integration for Partner Force interoperability.

Enhance FutureG waveform resilience for tactical and expeditionary environments.

Simplify FutureG network deployment, management, and orchestration.

Highlighted Projects:

ETU focuses on innovation that enables commercial network technologies in tactical operations. These highlighted projects demonstrate ETU's commitment to delivering robust and adaptable 5G solutions:

Army 5G Tactical Mobility: This project is developing a cost-effective, combat-ready 5G prototype equipped with On-The-Move Command and Control capabilities to meet latency, throughput, range, and resiliency requirements. This project will address operational needs and future Secure Cellular Project requirements for survivability of Army networks to include the distributed Command Post.

Scalable Interoperable Resilient-5G (SIR-5G): This project leverages standard 5G capabilities to establish a scalable, interoperable, and resilient warfighting network for NATO. Utilizing 5G secure roaming, RAN Sharing, and interoperability between a 5G core and various tactical radios, SIR-5G positions NATO as a 5G service provider.

Press Releases

FutureG Office to Invest $1.8 Million to Naval Postgraduate School for Network Advancement

NEWS RELEASE: May 24, 2024

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s FutureG office will invest approximately $1.8 million in the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) to bolster research and development of open source 5G/FutureG software for expeditionary operations.

The funding will help NPS students and faculty members develop a cellular curriculum that supports the Department of Defense communications priorities through multi-disciplinary academic certifications with focus on various 5G/FutureG specializations, including cloud computing and millimeter wave antenna arrays. This partnership aims to empower mid-career officers to directly influence the transition of 5G/FutureG technology into the services in follow-on assignments of increasing responsibility.

“Investment in our internal workforce is essential to advancing technologies critical to the Department of Defense,” said Dr. Tom Rondeau, FutureG office principal director. “The expertise they gain will help us understand how to buy, deploy, and manage advanced wireless networks like 5G and 6G. Coupled with their previous experiences in the fleet, this will help us innovate and deploy technologies that support future operations and the department’s strategic visions.”