By donmcgee
Publication Date: 2026-10-11 14:46:00
On October 8, 2026, defense technology contractor Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced the successful demonstration of end-to-end connectivity across a native, multi-vendor 5G New Radio Non-Terrestrial Network (5G NR NTN).
Conducted using Kratos’ OpenSpace platform, the flight and ground demonstration established multi-vendor interoperability across virtualized satellite ground software, third-party 5G core platforms, and commercial user equipment without requiring single-vendor hardware locks.
Technical Architecture and Multi-Vendor Integration
The demonstration validated two-way 5G NR NTN data transmission across a fully virtualized, software-defined ground architecture. Kratos integrated three primary system components to establish the multi-vendor network:
- OpenSpace Radio Access Network (RAN): Kratos’ fully virtualized, software-defined RAN platform provided the satellite base station functionality, managing radio frequency signal processing and dynamic beam resource allocation.
- 5G Core Network: Druid Software supplied its Raemis 5G Core platform to handle subscriber session management, authentication, and core network traffic routing.
- User Equipment (UE): GCT Semiconductor provided its GDM7275X 5G modem chipset to function as the remote satellite-connected terminal, establishing bidirectionally synchronized links.
The demonstration also incorporated collaborative technical support from South Korean satellite…
