Communications Systems
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NATO’s Digital Backbone Experimentation 2026 (DiBaX 2026) brought together representatives from participating nations, defense organisations and technology partners in Latvia from 19–30 October to examine how advanced communications and digital capabilities could strengthen operational readiness.
Led by NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT), with support from Latvia’s Ministry of Defence and National Armed Forces, the event involved LMT Defence as technical integrator.
This year’s communication experimentation addressed operational challenges associated with grey-zone incidents below the threshold of NATO’s Article 5, including drone intrusions and undersea cable incidents in the Baltic Sea.
The programme concentrated on three use cases covering rapid deployment, network resilience and passive object detection.
The first investigated how private 5G network slicing on host-nation mobile infrastructure could provide NATO forces with secure command-and-control capabilities and data services before full infrastructure was in place.
The second examined communications continuity in jammed environments, exploring alternative connection methods and failover options. These included radio communications across different frequencies, satellite connectivity incorporating 5G direct-to-device technology, and troposcatter links.
The third use case investigated data aggregation and analysis, including the potential to use 5G infrastructure for passive object detection. Particular attention was given to urban areas with dense mobile tower coverage, examining how objects moving through 5G coverage areas could be detected.
Speaking at the DiBaX press conference on 30 October, Admiral Pierre Vandier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, NATO, said, “We have connected systems that were never designed to communicate with each other, using artificial intelligence to overcome interoperability barriers. It’s the first time that we have, for example, a Maven system that is speaking to a national system, and that has been fixed in hours with Agentic AI.”
Ingmārs Pūķis, Vice President and Member of the Management Board at LMT, added, “Communications have become the invisible battlefield of modern defence. The ability to protect the flow of information can determine how quickly forces understand what is happening and act accordingly. DiBaX is not just about testing individual technologies, but about ensuring that the digital backbone connecting them remains resilient in contested conditions. As the technology integrator for DiBaX 2026, LMT’s role is to enable different technologies to communicate with each other even under disrupted conditions.”
The experimentation also reflected NATO’s efforts to move beyond technological demonstrations towards practical adoption, focusing on how emerging capabilities could be integrated into military and civilian structures, including dual-use applications.
DiBaX 2026 marked the fifth consecutive year of the experiment taking place in Latvia. Participating countries included Lithuania, Germany, the United States, Canada and Finland, alongside Latvia and other nations.
More than 60 technology partners participated, including Ericsson, Nokia, Thales, TEKEVER, Spectra Group, PLATH and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). NATO organisations involved included the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), NATO CIS Group (NCISG) and other NATO Command Structure entities.
Raivis Melnis, Minister of Defence of Latvia, stated,“The fact that the DiBaX experiment is taking place in Latvia for the fifth consecutive year demonstrates our ability to provide an environment for testing and refining the latest defence technologies under various conditions. This experience allows us not only to test innovative digital solutions in an environment that closely resembles realistic operational conditions, but also to strengthen cooperation with NATO Allies and promote technological interoperability.”
Additional Counter-UAS and Targeting Experimentation
Two related NATO experimentation efforts took place alongside DiBaX’s digital communications activities: the Layered Counter-UAS Initiative (LCI-X) and Next Generation Targeting (NGT).
LCI-X, a NATO ACT Beacon Project, examined how different sensors and effectors could work together to provide layered defense against active unmanned aerial system threats.
NGT explored opportunities to accelerate the information-to-decision process through AI-enabled decision support and data aggregation, helping prepare information for faster decision-making.
The concluding programme included observer opportunities on 27–28 October, followed by NATO FUSE on 29–30 October. NATO FUSE opened with plenary sessions, panel discussions and industry engagement, before moving to live field experimentation and outdoor demonstrations on its second day.
The event coincided with high-level NATO and European Union engagement in Latvia. On 30 October, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Alexus G. Grynkewich, visited the country and met Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis also participated in NATO FUSE, where he announced the establishment of two pilot European Drone Technology Hubs in 2027, one in Latvia and another in the Netherlands. The hubs are intended to accelerate the development, testing and deployment of drone and counter-drone technologies in close cooperation with NATO.
