Special Report: British Army uses 5G network in dispersed command post experiment

A British Army Boxer armoured vehicle in a command configuration integrated with a Starlink terminal, seen at Exercise Mercury Acumen on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire in July 2026. (Janes/Tamara Rozouvan)

In a British Army first, the 7th Signal Group (7 Sig Gp) used a private 5G network in a dispersed command post (CP) configuration with multiple video feeds during an industry concept demonstration and experimentation event, Exercise ‘Mercury Acumen G6 Study Day', held on Salisbury Plain in the UK on 28 July 2026.

The main aim of Mercury Acumen was to demonstrate that full motion video (FMV) could be provided into the turret of an armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) via a 5G network from the camera on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), as part of a dispersed CP.

During the exercise, Janes saw three platforms including a Challenger 2 main battle tank (MBT), which was designated the role of a frontline forward element. A Boxer AFV in a command configuration represented the CP. “Anything the Challenger 2 is seeing is also available to the Boxer,” a British Army representative told Janes . A Bulldog armoured personnel carrier (APC) was used as a communications hub in the dispersed CP configuration.

The video feeds were provided via a Kestrel (also known as Indago 4) UAV and three static transceivers that could also have cameras attached. “Like a camera on a picket which is possibly doing ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] sensing,” the British Army representative said.

“We had four feeds coming in. This was fed onto a screen which essentially showed four different images,” Colonel Rob Harris, Commander 7th Signal Group, ‘Commander Comms' 3rd UK Division explained. The feeds were available to personnel inside the Challenger 2, Boxer, and Bulldog.