RTX’s BBN division will lead a team to create multi-hop mobile ad hoc networks, or MANETs, for the United States’ Department of Defense.
The technology will allow forward-deployed service members with 5G equipment to communicate directly without the need for a complex 5G infrastructure.
The Opportunistic eXtemporarY 5G Encrypted Network (OXYGEN) capability is being developed under a contract with the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s (OUSD (R&E)’s) FutureG and 5G Office with a potential value of $6.6 million over two years.
Further, it aims to connect a minimum of 20 pieces of user equipment by taking advantage of 5G’s sidelink technology, while securely enabling the transmission of data at 100 Mbps.
Piggybacking sensitive information over commercial infrastructure requires additional layers of security and mesh networking on top of relay links.
This allows for multicast traffic instead of simple peer-to-peer communication.
OXYGEN will enhance commercial cellular equipment to ensure a fully trusted and secure tactical MANET capability.
The Raytheon BBN-led team includes Kryptowire LLC, Novowi LLC and Curated Networks, Inc.
Work on the program is being performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts; McLean, Virginia; Brookline, Massachusetts; and Santa Cruz, California.
