Non-Terrestrial Networks for Next-Generation Defense Scenarios: KPIs and Experimental Validation

Our primary focus in this study is on the potential benefits to military communications from integrating Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) into the existing 5G terrestrial network architecture. Despite current 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardization efforts, considerable impediments exist to the full adoption and adaptation of 5G Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite integration to satisfy the special demands and requirements of military communication. Military communications, unlike civilian networks, require architecture that can withstand complex and changing environments. This paper provides a complete review of the requirements for military communications. The requirements are based on actual military application scenarios, as well as standards developed by organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DoD), the European Defense Agency (EDA) and the China Central Military Commission (CMC). Furthermore, in this work, we propose a novel 5G-LEO NTN backhaul architecture that utilizes multi-link LEO aggregation and Virtual Private Network (VPN) tunneling. The proposed architecture is evaluated in a defense-oriented scenario, focusing on security, resilience and high-throughput communication.