Ericsson 5G SA trial enables secure, long-range ship-to-ship naval connectivity

Mediterranean 5G sea trial signals new era for naval connectivity

Ericsson deploys end-to-end 5G SA on Italian Navy vessels

Ericsson is installing a fully self-contained 5G Standalone (SA) network aboard Italian Navy ships in a prolonged maritime trial that demonstrates long-range, day-and-night operational connectivity. The exercise places an Ericsson Ultra Compact Core and Massive MIMO Radio Access Network on the amphibious landing ship San Giorgio as the lead unit, with Ericsson 5G SA customer premises equipment (CPE) on the Multi-Purpose Combat Ship Raimondo Montecuccoli, enabling ship-to-ship exchange of classified and unclassified data.

Using Leonardo’s NINE encryption and its AI Brain platform alongside Ericsson’s connectivity, the trial is streaming live video from 12 unmanned systems and delivering full situational awareness from combat management systems in real time. The experiment validates low-latency encrypted links, throughput and resilience to interference for on-board systems, and it demonstrates simultaneous secure command-and-control and sensor data flows over a single unified 5G network.

Ericsson and Leonardo present the exercise as a milestone for dual-use 5G in defence and maritime operations, arguing a unified 5G SA setup optimises spectrum use versus multiple standalone links operating on unlicensed, potentially overlapping bands. Ericsson executives highlight the strategic value for Italy’s central Mediterranean posture, noting an exclusive economic zone exceeding 500,000 square kilometres and asserting the capability materially strengthens naval communications and operational effectiveness at sea.

Follow-on trials and scaling plans

Partners in the EDF 5G COMPAD project and participants in the Italian Navy’s OPEX 2-25 in the Gulf of Taranto indicate follow-on trials are imminent in 2026 to scale coverage across larger EEZ areas, test interoperability with allied forces and refine deployment logistics. The programme assesses practical issues such as spectrum management, multi-vessel core architectures and methods to extend secure, high-bandwidth coverage across fleet operations.

Industry and product implications

The trial underscores Ericsson’s push into mission‑critical, dual‑use 5G solutions for defence and civilian maritime services, showcasing its Ultra Compact Core, Massive MIMO RAN and CPE in a contested maritime environment. The demonstration advances the case for unified 5G networks to provide resilient, encrypted connectivity for sensor fusion, unmanned systems and real‑time analytics at sea.