29th July 2026: SNS Telecom & IT's latest research report indicates that cumulative spending on private 5G networks in the defense sector will reach $2.5 billion between 2026 and 2029.

The military has a longstanding history of leveraging wireless communications, and some of the most significant wireless-related innovations of the 20th century originated in the defense sector. With significant advances in COTS (Commercial Off-the-Shelf) technology over the past two decades, there has been a growing focus on complementing proprietary solutions with 3GPP standards-based networks to deliver both local and wide area coverage for capabilities extending from smart base operations and tactical networking to ISAC (Integrated Sensing & Communications)-enabled sensing for counter-drone protection. Although public networks running over national mobile operator-owned RAN and core infrastructure are widely utilized for personal connectivity and non-sensitive IoT applications, defense sector stakeholders are increasingly turning their attention to exclusive-use, private 5G networks tailored to specific operational requirements in terms of security, access control, customization and specialized feature support. 

Spearheaded by initiatives such as the United States DOW's (Department of War) FutureG program, South Korean Ministry of National Defense's private 5G project for unmanned and remote operations, United Kingdom MOD's (Ministry of Defence) Project Morpheus, German Army’s D-LBO (Digitalization of Land-Based Operations), Spanish Air & Space Force's BACSI (Connected, Sustainable & Intelligent Air Base), Italian Ministry of Defense's DII (Defense Information Infrastructure), EU-funded 5G COMPAD 2.0 (5G Communications for Peacekeeping & Defense), NATO's MN5G (Multinational Collaboration on 5G) and DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic), armed forces around the globe are actively investing in both permanent and transportable private 5G networks for warfighters at the tactical edge, military bases and training facilities. The U.S. military, for instance, has multiple deployments across the continental United States and overseas, including operational networks for the Indo-Pacific and Africa Commands. Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Türkiye, Ukraine, Russia, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Brazil are among the other countries where experimental and operational networks have been deployed, operating in spectrum ranging from sub-1 GHz frequencies to bands n78 (3.5 GHz), n77 (3.7 GHz) and n79 (4.4-5 GHz), as well as mmWave bands.  

The expanding influence of private networks is also evident from the recent use of rapidly deployable cellular systems for enhanced communications in military exercises such as the JIFX (Joint Interagency Field Experimentation) program hosted by the Naval Postgraduate School; Washington Air National Guard’s Exercise Phoenix Dawn; Italian Navy’s OPEX (Operational Experimentation) 2-25 in the Gulf of Taranto; German Army's urban warfare training drills; Norwegian military’s Joint Viking exercise in the Arctic Circle; SABAK, a joint exercise of the Philippine Army and USARPAC (U.S. Army Pacific) forces; U.S. Marine Corps’ Steel Knight and ITX (Integrated Training Exercise); JGSDF’s (Japan Ground Self-Defense Force) Nankai Rescue disaster response training drill; and REPMUS, an unmanned systems experimentation exercise led by the Portuguese Navy.

SNS Telecom & IT projects that global spending on private 5G and 4G LTE networks in the defense sector will grow at a CAGR of 24% over the next three years, collectively accounting for nearly $2.5 billion in cumulative investments between 2026 and 2029. The "Private 5G/4G Cellular Networks for Defense: 2026 – 2030" research package provides detailed market analysis and forecasts for private 5G and LTE networks across 16 vertical industries, including defense. The package includes the full edition of SNS Telecom & IT's "Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem: 2026 – 2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts" report and a datasheet with additional defense-sector private 5G/4G infrastructure and device market forecasts from 2026 to 2030, as well as historical data from 2023 to 2025. For more information, please visit: https://www.snstelecom.com/defense.

About SNS Telecom & IT

SNS Telecom & IT is a global market intelligence and consulting firm with a primary focus on the telecommunications and information technology industries. Our market research reports and databases provide unique insights on both established and emerging technologies. Our areas of coverage include but are not limited to 6G, 5G, Open RAN (Radio Access Network), vRAN (Virtualized RAN), Cloud RAN, AI-RAN (Artificial Intelligence RAN), small cells, mobile core, xHaul (Fronthaul, Midhaul & Backhaul) transport, network automation, mobile operator services, FWA (Fixed Wireless Access), neutral host systems, private 4G/5G cellular networks, CBRS, shared spectrum, public safety broadband, critical communications, MCX (Mission-Critical PTT, Video & Data), IIoT (Industrial IoT), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communications and vertical applications.