Mobile Operators Team up with the Military
Ultra-fast 5G services are expected to transform not only the industrial field and everyday life but also the military.
Drones have started to make changes in the militay. Recently, LG Uplus has teamed up with the Army 31st Division to demonstrate how drones can be used for coastal search and base camp security. The mobile company operated drones using the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) communications network. Currently, drones function merely as a supplementary “eye” in military operations, but if they are installed with a “head” based on artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in the future, they will be able to put front and center in military operations. For pickets located in mountains and remote islands, drones can carry military supplies and they will be used in actual combat, such as attacks and defenses, in the future.
5G offers a new solution for dangerous tasks such as landmine removal. Because landmines are sensitive to external stimuli, removing landmines from the ground with an excavator requires delicate hand skills and immediate responses of the driver. 5G enables an unmanned operation of an excavator for landmine removal as it instantly provides high-resolution videos. The Ministry of National Defense and LG Uplus plan to carry out a research project on unmanned landmine removal until May next year and use the technology to search and removal of unidentified landmines in the areas near the military demarcation line in the future.
5G is also accelerating application of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to the military sector. SK Telecom and the Korea Military Academy are developing a VR-based precision shooting training simulator and an AR-based command and control training simulator. When these technologies are applied to the whole army after pilot operation, they are expected to greatly enhance the combat capabilities of individual soldiers as well as their troops.
VR will enable training in extraordinary situations that are usually not part of general training, such as in bad weather or at night, and it also allows soldiers to use various guns and bullets. On the battlefield, an AR glass can help the commander make the best decisions by providing real-time information on the terrain and major buildings of the operational area and situations of allies and enemies.