5G in Defense Market Size & Share 2026-2035

5G in Defense Market Size

The global 5G in defense market was valued at USD 1.8 billion in 2025, reflecting the growing adoption of next-generation wireless communications across military and defense ecosystems worldwide. The market is expected to grow from USD 2.2 billion in 2026 to USD 5.2 billion in 2031 & USD 8.4 billion in 2035, at a CAGR of 16.2% during forecast period, according to the latest report published by Global Market Insights Inc.

This growth trajectory is underpinned by accelerating defense digitalization mandates, expanding deployments of autonomous and unmanned military systems, and the strategic pivot toward multi-domain and network-centric warfare doctrines across major defense spenders. In parallel, heightened geopolitical pressures and rising investment in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) infrastructure are compressing procurement timelines, driving militaries across NATO and allied nations to accelerate 5G integration into forward-operating and base-area networks.

The 5G defense market is driven by increasing global defense modernization spending. Allocations to next-generation communication infrastructure are rising across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific as militaries prioritize network-centric warfare and digital battlefield transformation. The U.S. Department of Defense's FY2026 budget explicitly designates Fifth Generation communications (5G) as a priority science and technology investment alongside AI, autonomy, and hypersonics. These budgetary commitments accelerate procurement of 5G-enabled infrastructure, stimulating demand for high-performance radio access networks, secure core network equipment, and ruggedized terminal devices across installation and expeditionary environments.^{[1]Comptroller defense, FY2026_Weapons.pdf}

Additionally, the need for instantaneous data transmission from satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, and ground sensors is driving adoption of high-bandwidth, low-latency 5G networks. India's Ministry of Defence's iDEX program has issued specific challenges for 5G military handsets compliant with MILGRAD/JSS-55555 military standards, reflecting a broader recognition that 5G is foundational to next-generation ISR architectures. Faster decision-making cycles and improved situational awareness in contested environments represent the primary operational outcomes, positioning 5G as indispensable infrastructure for C2 and ISR modernization programs globally. The convergence of satellite, UAV, and ground sensor data streams onto a single high-throughput network layer is simultaneously driving investment in software-defined radio terminals, AI-assisted signal processing, and secure spectrum management platforms.^{[2]iDEX, iDEX - Innovation for Defence Excellence}

Furthermore, heightened geopolitical instability and territorial disputes are compelling nations to strengthen border surveillance and rapid-response communication systems. The NATO Communications and Information Agency launched the Multinational Collaboration on 5G (MN5G) project in October 2024, with Italy, Spain, and Türkiye as founding members under a signed Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at advancing military capabilities through 5G and future network generations. This initiative reflects a broader trend toward interoperable, multi-domain networks, compelling member nations to standardize 5G infrastructure and reinforcing demand for network slicing, private deployable networks, and secure spectrum allocation solutions across allied forces.^{[3]NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), NCIA | Home}

The 5G in defense market increased steadily from USD 880 million in 2022 and reached USD 1.5 billion in 2024, driven by accelerating defense modernization budgets, growing ISR connectivity requirements, rising geopolitical tensions, expanding autonomous systems deployments, and the doctrinal shift toward multi-domain warfare, the market is entering a sustained and structurally supported growth phase. During this period, defense ecosystems are undergoing fundamental transformation from isolated, platform-specific communication systems to integrated, software-defined networks capable of operating across all warfighting domains. The convergence of network-centric doctrine, digital procurement mandates, and allied interoperability standards is progressively establishing 5G as the baseline communication layer for modern military operations.

5G in Defense Market Trends

• AI integration with military 5G networks began gaining momentum around 2022, driven by the requirement for autonomous decision-making in high-bandwidth, data-intensive battlefield environments. This trend emerged as machine learning algorithms demanded real-time data streams that legacy networks could not reliably deliver. Expected to continue through 2035, this convergence is progressively raising the operational ceiling for AI-enabled C2 systems and fundamentally restructuring procurement requirements across defense network infrastructure programs.
• The operational consequence is significant: AI inference deployed at the network edge enabled by 5G's low-latency architecture allows autonomous platforms to act on fused sensor data in near-real time without uplink delays. In practice, this compresses the sensor-to-shooter loop from minutes to seconds, a capability differential that is already influencing doctrine in advanced exercises.  
• The adoption of private 5G networks and network slicing for military communications has accelerated since 2021, driven by escalating cybersecurity requirements and the inadequacy of shared spectrum for classified command networks. This trend is expected to continue through 2033 as defense organizations progressively mandate physically isolated, software-defined network architectures for forward-deployed operations, boosting demand for dedicated military-grade radio access and core network infrastructure.
• The underlying driver is architectural, not merely technical. Network slicing enables a single physical 5G infrastructure to simultaneously serve command-and-control traffic with guaranteed latency, logistics tracking with high throughput, and public safety coordination with baseline quality each slice isolated and independently secured. This multi-use efficiency substantially reduces the total infrastructure footprint required for a given operational site, shifting the investment case from cost-prohibitive toward operationally justified, particularly for permanent military installations.

5G in Defense Market Analysis

Based on by component, the 5G in defense market is divided into hardware, software and services.

• The Hardware segment led the market in 2025, holding a 44.1% share due to the capital-intensive nature of 5G infrastructure deployment across military installations. This encompasses ruggedized base stations, sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave radio units, specialized antenna arrays, and military-certified small cells engineered to stringent environmental and operational security standards. Base-area network deployments at permanent military installations represent the primary demand source, driven by large-scale operational technology procurement frameworks across major defense spenders. The hardware layer remains foundational across all deployment environments from fixed command centers to mobile expeditionary platforms requiring adaptable, military-grade form factors capable of operating in electromagnetically contested environments.
• The Software segment is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 19.3% over the forecast period. Growth is driven by expanding deployment of software-defined networking platforms, AI-powered radio resource management tools, network slicing orchestration engines, and zero-trust security management suites purpose-built for classified defense environments. As hardware infrastructure matures, incremental value shifts decisively to the software layer where cybersecurity hardening, operational differentiation, and AI-enabled analytics reside supporting higher-margin, more predictable renewal cycles compared to one-time hardware procurement across defense acquisition timelines.

Based on network deployment, the 5G in defense market is divided into private 5G networks and tactical / deployable 5G networks.

• The Private 5G Networks segment led the market in 2025, holding a 62% share due to the primacy of fixed-base and semi-permanent military installation deployments in the early market phase. These networks provide physically isolated, spectrum-dedicated infrastructure that eliminates interception risks inherent in shared or public carrier-grade networks, directly meeting the cybersecurity classification requirements of base-area military environments. High population density, multi-system complexity, and ISR connectivity requirements at permanent military sites collectively sustain demand for private 5G as the established deployment model of choice for initial large-scale military 5G investment programs across all major defense markets.
• The Tactical/Deployable 5G Networks segment is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 18.6% over the forecast period. Growth is driven by demand for highly mobile, rapid-deployment 5G nodes capable of delivering operational-grade connectivity in forward-deployed and austere environments where commercial infrastructure is absent or compromised. Tactical 5G must deliver full standalone core functionality in a transportable form factor integrating satellite backhaul, vehicle power systems, and classified security protocols representing the defining next-phase capability investment once base-area network coverage is established across the alliance.

Based on by end-user, the 5G in defense market is divided into army / land forces, navy / maritime forces, air force / aerospace forces and defense agencies & central commands.

• The Army/Land Forces segment led the market in 2025, holding a 38.3% share due to land forces' role as the broadest and most operationally diverse consumer of ground-based 5G communication infrastructure across all major defense markets. Key applications include battle management system integration, unmanned ground vehicle coordination, ISR relay from airborne platforms, and real-time logistics tracking all requiring high-throughput, low-latency connectivity. Ruggedized gateway devices enabling seamless handoff between military tactical radios and commercial 5G networks exemplify the product category that sustains this segment's demand across recurring procurement cycles globally.
• The Air Force/Aerospace Forces segment is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 17.1% over the forecast period. This growth reflects the expanding role of 5G in airfield operations, unmanned aerial system coordination, and secure ground-to-air data link infrastructure for complex modern air operations. Ultra-reliable, low-latency 5G connectivity enables UAV swarm coordination, distributed sensor fusion, and real-time mission command from forward-deployed environments driving adoption of novel airborne 5G hub deployment models and platform integration architectures that legacy 4G and satellite systems are structurally unable to support.

North America 5G in Defense Market

The North American market held the largest global share at 46% in 2025.

• Driven by the U.S. Department of Defense's explicit designation of 5G as a priority science and technology investment within its FY2026 budget framework. ¹ The U.S. Air Force's OTL 3 program awarded in January 2025 and covering 35 installations has expanded Verizon's cumulative 5G presence to 72 Air Force bases across the country, establishing a repeatable procurement model for base-area 5G that other branches are now replicating. Canada has reinforced its defense 5G posture through the Advanced Wireless Communications Innovation Network (AWIN), a government-exclusive 5G innovation partnership established in May 2026, aimed specifically at advancing defense and public safety communications through next-generation wireless infrastructure.
• The more consequential near-term driver in North America is the convergence of multiple parallel procurement vehicles the MDA SHIELD IDIQ (ceiling USD 151 billion), Project Convergence, and the JADC2 (Joint All-Domain Command and Control) initiative into a unified demand signal for integrated 5G, edge compute, and AI platforms. This creates a pull-through effect across the value chain: radio hardware, network software, integration services, and cybersecurity overlays are all rising simultaneously under a single architectural mandate, compressing technology selection cycles and accelerating contract awards in ways that a segmented procurement model would not produce.

The U.S. 5G in defense market reached USD 719.4 million in 2025, growing from USD 609.9 million in 2024.

• The U.S. defense 5G ecosystem is distinguished from all other national markets by the simultaneous activation of multiple parallel procurement programs each at sufficient scale to independently sustain a supplier. The Army's Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) transport layer program, for which a $24 million award was issued in October 2025, targets deployment of advanced gateway manpacks capable of bridging military tactical radios with 5G/LTE networks for the 4th Infantry Division ahead of Project Convergence 2026. In parallel, the FirstNet Authority and AT&T's $6.3 billion, 10-year network investment commitment announced in 2024 is delivering full 5G capabilities to the nationwide public safety broadband network, creating a dual-use infrastructure backbone that directly benefits defense agencies with a homeland security or emergency response mission.
• The structural insight here is that the U.S. is effectively running two distinct 5G procurement tracks base infrastructure via OTL and equivalent programs, and tactical overlay via NGC2, JADC2, and SHIELD that will converge operationally by 2028-2030. The near-term investment in base infrastructure creates security baselines and spectrum management frameworks that tactical 5G systems will depend on; suppliers positioned across both tracks will capture disproportionate long-term revenue relative to those focused on a single procurement pathway.

Europe 5G in Defense Market

Europe market accounted for USD 397.9 million in 2025 and is anticipated to show lucrative growth over the forecast period.

• Driven by a structural funding shift enabled by the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) Regulation (EU) 2025/2643 and the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106, which together mobilize substantial EU-level financing for defense technology modernization through 2027. Germany's Bundeswehr is anchoring Continental demand through the Digitalization of Land-Based Operations (D-LBO) program where Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH secured a multi-billion euro, 10-year TaWAN LBO framework contract in February 2025. The 5G COMPAD project's September 2025 live demonstration at the German Army Combat Training Centre in Letzlingen involving 19 European defense and telecom partners validated mission-critical 5G interoperability for allied land forces and accelerated procurement conversations across multiple EU MoDs.
• The second-order effect of Europe's 5G defense acceleration is market consolidation among European defense communication vendors. National champions are forming joint ventures and MoUs Nokia with Rheinmetall subsidiary blackned, Thales with KONGSBERG to access combined capabilities that no single vendor can provide alone. This collaborative model is creating a distinctly European 5G defense supply chain that reduces dependence on U.S. or Asian vendors but simultaneously raises interoperability complexity for allied operations.

Germany dominates the Europe 5G in defense market, showcasing strong growth potential.

• Germany's Bundeswehr represents Europe's most structurally significant 5G in defense procurement program, underpinned by the multi-billion euro D-LBO initiative targeting integration of new digital radio and command systems into more than 10,000 combat and support vehicles by mid-2030. The TaWAN LBO framework contract, awarded to Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH in February 2025 with a 10-year term, establishes a Tactical Wide Area Network for land-based operations, designed to provide seamless, deployable digital connectivity for German ground forces in demanding operational environments.
• Additionally, Nokia and Rheinmetall subsidiary blackned formalized an MoU to develop next-generation deployable tactical networks specifically tailored to Bundeswehr requirements, integrating Nokia's 5G technology with blackned's Battlesuite software architecture creating a defense-purpose-built communication platform with embedded export potential.

Asia Pacific 5G in Defense Market

The Asia Pacific market is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR of 17.3% during the forecast period.

• The Asia Pacific 5G in defense industry holds a 22.7% global share in 2025. With demand driven by three distinct national investment profiles. India's Ministry of Defence allocated INR 6,81,210 crore (approximately USD 78.57 billion) to defense in FY2025-26 representing 13.44% of the total national budget with the capital outlay focused on modernization of armed forces platforms and communications infrastructure.^{[4]PIB, pib.gov}
• The Ministry's designation of 2025 as the "Year of Reforms," with explicit focus on cyber, AI, and new-domain capabilities, positions 5G adoption as a policy-mandated priority rather than a discretionary technology upgrade. China's People's Liberation Army has maintained an accelerated pace of 5G military integration across its domestic base-area and mobile command networks, leveraging its position as the world's largest commercial 5G infrastructure operator to rapidly adapt civilian network technologies for classified defense applications.

China 5G in defense market is estimated to grow with a significant CAGR, in the Asia Pacific market.

• China's defense 5G ecosystem is characterized by an unmatched degree of civil-military integration, with the PLA's command communication networks progressively adopting 5G SA (Standalone) architectures built on domestically produced infrastructure, leveraging China's position as the operator of the world's largest commercial 5G network. The PLA's modernization doctrine, embedded in the 14th Five-Year Plan, prioritizes "intelligentized warfare" a concept that explicitly requires AI-enabled, high-bandwidth battlefield networks as foundational infrastructure. This institutional demand signal sustains substantial domestic investment in defense-grade 5G core equipment, ruggedized radio units, and encrypted terminal devices engineered to PLA operational specifications.
• The more consequential dimension of China's defense 5G posture is its dual-use industrial base. China's three major domestic telecom equipment manufacturers supply both commercial networks globally and defense networks domestically, creating a vertically integrated technology ecosystem that dramatically reduces acquisition costs relative to nations relying on purpose-built military suppliers. This cost advantage is enabling China to deploy 5G at a speed and scale that NATO allies constrained by trusted-vendor restrictions and longer procurement certification timelines are currently unable to match, representing a structural competitive asymmetry with long-horizon strategic implications.

Middle East and Africa 5G in Defense Market

Saudi Arabia market to experience substantial growth in the Middle East and Africa.

• Saudi Arabia's defense 5G market is gaining momentum, supported by a USD 78 billion defense budget in 2025, up from USD 75.8 billion in 2024, and the landmark USD 142 billion U.S.-Saudi defense cooperation agreement signed in May 2025—the largest such agreement to date which identifies information and communication systems as one of five priority domains. The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) is directing 5G investment through its Vision 2030 localization mandate, which targets 50% domestic production of defense spending by 2030, creating dual demand for imported 5G technologies in the near term and indigenous capability development over the medium term.^{[5]Breaking Defense, breakingdefense/saudi-arabia}

5G in Defense Market Share

The 5G in defense industry exhibits a moderately concentrated competitive structure, with the top five players Ericsson (14.9%), L3Harris Technologies (11.9%), Nokia Networks (11.3%), Thales Group (8.7%), and Verizon/AT&T Federal (8.4%) collectively accounting for 55.2% of the market in 2025. The remaining 44.8% is distributed across a fragmented field of defense prime contractors, systems integrators, regional telecom operators with federal divisions, and specialized niche vendors. This market structure reflects the dual nature of 5G in defense as a product category that spans both commercial telecom infrastructure (favoring Ericsson, Nokia, and the operator-aligned players) and classified defense systems integration (favoring L3Harris, Thales, and the defense prime-aligned suppliers).

These companies leverage their extensive experience in 5G network architecture and defense communications, a broad portfolio of RAN, core network, and tactical connectivity solutions across commercial and defense applications, along with active engagement in major DoD and NATO modernization programs to sustain their positions in the industry.

These entities also maintain and grow their positions in the market by leveraging increased investment in Open RAN development, secure network architectures, and ruggedized 5G infrastructure. The continued customer relationships that many of them have built over years with the U.S. Department of Defense, NATO member nations, and allied defense agencies, as well as a commitment to product innovation, allow them to address needs such as private tactical networks, real-time ISR connectivity, autonomous system integration, and next-generation multi-domain warfare requirements.

5G in Defense Market Companies

Prominent players operating in the 5G in defense industry are as mentioned below:

• Ericsson
• Nokia Networks
• Lockheed Martin
• L3Harris Technologies
• Raytheon Technologies (RTX)
• Thales Group
• Leonardo S.p.A.
• Hughes Network Systems
• Mavenir
• Verizon Federal
• Samsung Networks
• Booz Allen Hamilton (Gap)
• AT&T Inc. (Public Sector / FirstNet) (Gap)
• General Dynamics (GDIT) (Gap)
• NEC Corporation

• Ericsson

Ericsson delivers a full portfolio of commercial and defense-grade 5G solutions, encompassing radio access network hardware, standalone 5G core software, and AI-integrated network management platforms tailored to defense operational environments. The company's federal business unit specializes in secure, high-performance 5G and emerging 6G technologies aligned to military certification standards, with expertise in integrating commercial 5G innovation into classified government mission frameworks.

• L3Harris Technologies

L3Harris Technologies specializes in software-defined tactical communications, offering a comprehensive portfolio that spans encrypted waveform radios, 5G gateway manpacks, and interoperable command-and-control platforms designed for multi-domain military operations. The company's core strength lies in its depth of military standards compliance, its established position across all U.S. Armed Services branches, and its expertise in bridging classified tactical networks with commercial 5G and satellite connectivity infrastructure.

• Nokia Networks

Nokia Networks provides military-grade private 5G network solutions through its dedicated defense business, with product lines including ruggedized deployable base stations, open-architecture core network software, and tactical communication systems engineered for interoperability with allied forces. The company's dual expertise in commercial 5G technology leadership and defense-specific network engineering enables it to deliver field-ready modular 5G capabilities aligned with DoD open architecture standards.

• Thales Group

Thales Group offers a broad spectrum of defense communication solutions encompassing tactical radio systems, encrypted network infrastructure, hybrid military-commercial connectivity platforms, and satellite communication terminals. The company's strength is its deep integration with European and NATO defense ecosystems, its cryptographic security expertise certified to national classification standards, and its ability to deliver hybrid networking solutions that seamlessly combine military legacy systems with commercial 5G and satellite services.

• Verizon Federal / AT&T Federal (FirstNet)

Verizon Federal and AT&T Federal operate as defense-aligned carrier service providers, delivering 5G network infrastructure, spectrum management, and managed connectivity services across U.S. military installations and federal agencies. Their competitive differentiation lies in extensive existing spectrum holdings, established base-area deployment experience across dozens of military installations, and the FirstNet platform, the only nationwide public safety broadband network built with 3GPP mission-critical standards for defense and emergency services.

5G in Defense Industry News

• In May 2026, Ericsson Canada announced an exclusive partnership with the Government of Canada to establish the Advanced Wireless Communications Innovation Network (AWIN), a dedicated platform to advance defense and public safety communications through next-generation 5G wireless technology.
• In March 2026, L3Harris unveiled the XL-300P, the industry's first P25 handheld radio integrating a native 5G modem and 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network capabilities, providing triple-layered P25, cellular broadband, and satellite connectivity in a single form factor for defense and public safety users.
• In April 2025, The French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) awarded Thales a contract to supply hybrid networking kits for French Army vehicles including the Griffon, VBCI, and Serval platforms integrating OneWeb satellite and commercial 5G services with the SYRACUSE IV, CONTACT, and HF military networks, with an initial batch of 25 kits delivered for field trials.

The 5G in defense market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates and forecast in terms of revenue (USD Million) from 2022 – 2035 for the following segments:

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Market, By Component

• Hardware
• Software
• Services

Market, By Network Deployment

• Private 5G Networks
• Tactical / Deployable 5G Networks

Market, By End-User

• Army / Land Forces
• Navy / Maritime Forces
• Air Force / Aerospace Forces
• Defense Agencies & Central Commands

The above information is provided for the following regions and countries:

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • France
  • Spain
  • Italy
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia
  • South Korea

• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Argentina

• Middle East and Africa
  • South Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE