Airbus climbs in industrial digitisation with private 5G deployment

As part of its objective to migrate all of its industrial networks to 5G to ensure unified, “ultra-reliable” connectivity from its workstation to the aircraft cabin, Airbus is advancing its factory digitisation programme through the deployment of high-performance private 5G connectivity from Ericsson.

Through this strategic partnership, Airbus and Ericsson are accelerating the digital transformation of the aerospace industry, laying the foundation for the next generation of smart factories – fully connected, scalable and sharply focused on innovation across Europe and the world. The private 5G technology is being installed at the Airbus production site in Hamburg, with another deployment underway in Toulouse.

With a fully operational private 5G network now live in Hamburg, and a deployment at Toulouse underway, to be completed by 2026, this roll-out is part of a broader roadmap to extend private 5G across Airbus’s strategic sites in Europe – including further locations in Spain, the UK and internationally, with projects in the US and Canada pending. 

The initiative forms part of the Airbus digitisation strategy, which is aimed at strengthening manufacturing automation, traceability and operational efficiency, while meeting what the leading aircraft manufacturer assured will be the sector’s strictest safety and security standards. 

Moreover, the private 5G network will form the backbone of Airbus’s strategic transformation projects, enabling high-value industrial use cases such as internet of things (IoT) integration, intelligent management of critical equipment, real-time quality control and collaborative robotics.

Commenting on the installation, Airbus 5G expert Hakim Achouri said: “This deployment accelerates projects involving 3D simulation, augmented reality, improved traceability for parts, and predictive maintenance for our assets. The standardisation and scalability made possible by this architecture allow us to replicate the solution easily across further sites in Europe and worldwide.”

Airbus and Ericsson’s partnership in industrial connectivity also features advanced 5G standalone (SA) technology and deployment models, which are further attributed with accelerating 5G usage in office environments. Joint research and development efforts are also focusing on connected cabins, 6G, and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to enhance the connectivity ecosystem for aerospace and smart manufacturing applications.  

The tech provider stated that with full site coverage with private 5G, machines and operators on the production floor are set to gain true mobility, boosting productivity, process agility and end-to-end industrial control, all of which are regarded as key to realising the full potential of Industry 4.0. The private 5G solution’s built-in infrastructure automation is designed to enable rapid deployment across Airbus operations with the intended result of “significantly” shortening implementation timelines compared with traditional setups.

Ericsson believes this automation has already allowed Airbus to scale connectivity quickly and securely across multiple sites. Collaboration with the Ericsson product team has enhanced application integration, with the technology tailored to Airbus’s IT tooling and cyber security requirements. The design’s modular architecture and application programming interface (API)-driven interfaces are said to have simplified onboarding into Airbus’s existing systems, accelerating time-to-value and reinforcing robust security controls.

“Our collaboration with Airbus embodies the alliance between technological innovation and industrial excellence,” said Manish Tiwari, head of enterprise 5G and enterprise wireless solutions at Ericsson. “[We are] proud to support Airbus’s digitisation ambitions through Ericsson private 5G, offering best-in-class, secure connectivity at scale.”