The initiative is a critical part of Airbus’ digitalisation strategy, aimed at strengthening manufacturing automation, traceability and operational efficiency. This is alongside wanting to meet the strictest safety and security standards across the sector.
Partnering with Ericsson enables the aerospace company to leverage Ericsson Private 5G, which has been recognised for its reliability, security and high performance. The solution’s infrastructure automation aims to enable rapid deployment across Airbus operations – significantly shortening implementation timelines compared to a more traditional setup. This should enable Airbus to scale connectivity quickly and securely across multiple sites.
Collaborating with the Ericsson product team means that the solution is tailored specifically to Airbus’ IT-tooling and cybersecurity requirements. It is designed with a modular architecture and API-driven interface to make onboarding into Airbus’ existing systems simpler, thereby accelerating time-to-value and reinforcing robust security controls.
A fully operational private 5G network is now live in Hamburg and deployment is currently underway in Toulouse, expected to be completed by 2026. Airbus said the rollout is part of a wider roadmap to extend private 5G across its strategic sites across Europe, which includes additional locations in Spain, the UK and internationally, with projects in the US and Canada pending.
“Our objective is to migrate all our industrial networks towards 5G to ensure unified, ultra-reliable connectivity from the operator’s workstation to the aircraft cabin. This deployment accelerates projects involving 3D simulation, augmented reality, improved traceability for parts and predictive maintenance for our assets,” said Hakim Achouri, 5G expert at Airbus.
“The standardisation and scalability made possible by this architecture allow us to replicate the solution easily across further sites in Europe and worldwide.”
Ericsson Private 5G is a critical component of Airbus’ digital transformation strategy, as it facilitates a range of industrial use cases, including IoT integration, management of critical equipment, real-time quality control and robotics.
It means that machines and operators are able to boost productivity, process agility and end-to-end industrial control – all of which are steps to realising Industry 4.0 and its potential.
The new phase also features advanced 5G Standalone (5G SA) technology and next-generation deployment models that can accelerate 5G usage in office environments. Joint efforts are also underway
Joint R&D efforts are also underway, focusing on connected cabins, 6G and nonterrestrial networks (NTN) to enhance connectivity for aerospace and smart manufacturing applications. Airbus and Ericsson are eager to accelerate the digital transformation of the aerospace industry through this partnership, whilst also laying a foundation for next-generation smart factories that are fully connected and scalable for global innovation.
Manish Tiwari, head of enterprise 5G, enterprise wireless solutions at Ericsson, says: “Our collaboration with Airbus embodies the alliance between technological innovation and industrial excellence. Ericsson is proud to support Airbus’ digitalisation ambitions through Ericsson Private 5G, offering best-in-class, secure connectivity at scale.”
