“We are stronger together than we are when working separately,” said Thomas Hanlon, Persistent’s Director of Business Development for the International team, in a recent discussion about the company’s contract with multiple Baltic Sea Nations.

The contract reflects NATO’s multi-domain operations (MDO) strategy to achieve full interoperability between its Allies across all domains and operational environments. It mirrors the U.S. Department of Defense’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) initiative, which similarly calls for network modernization to support faster and more integrated collaboration between Allied forces.

These approaches highlight that future conflicts will require nations to operate collaboratively at unprecedented scale and speed. At the heart of this transformation lies communications – specifically, integrating data from thousands of unmanned systems, sensors, forces, vehicles, and command centers to enable real-time decision-making across all domains.

Persistent believes that secure, reliable, and interoperable communications – available globally – are critical to mission success. This essential foundation is what we refer to as a global communications fabric.

In this article, we will explore:

  • Challenges to Interoperable Communications
  • Persistent’s Approach
  • System Security
  • Baltic Sea Example
  • The Future of Multi-National Networks

Challenges to Interoperable Communications

Achieving joint interoperability and real-time data sharing across a flat network has long been hindered by security challenges. For years, defense experts have grappled with one key question: how can one nation communicate seamlessly with another without compromising sensitive information?

While security standards vary across countries, in the U.S., any Type 1 encrypted device – a National Security Agency (NSA) Controlled Cryptographic Item (CCI) for classified data – is prohibited from being exported to foreign entities. As a result, Allied forces often resort to stove-piped solutions or use non-type 1 radios for multinational communications.

However, introducing an additional radio increases the weight a warfighter must carry and forces teams to operate across separate, incompatible networks. Typically, only one operator has access to the additional radio and must relay the information to the rest of the team—adding delay at critical moments.

In today’s operational environments, where decisions must be made in seconds, such delays can be the difference between mission success and failure.

Persistent’s Approach

At Persistent, we prioritize enabling mission success by developing the technology warfighters need for today’s conflicts.

“In today’s operational environment, the electromagnetic spectrum has become key terrain in the battlespace. Dominating the secure, reliable transfer of real-time data is as critical today as holding key hilltops, road intersections, or bridges was in previous wars,” said Hanlon.

Backed by insights from our user community and a workforce made up of 34% veterans, Persistent is committed to building a global communications fabric that meets the evolving demands of the warfighter. At the core of our communications fabric is the Wave Relay® Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET), powered by the MPU5 networking device. This non-type 1, non-ITAR technology allows U.S. and allied forces to operate on the same network and exchange large volumes of data rapidly, in real time, even while on the move.

For broader connectivity, users can leverage Cloud Relay™, which supports any transport mechanism– including standard internet, 5G via the PT5, SATCOM, 4G/LTE, and more – and features two layers of NSA-approved encryption. Cloud Relay extends the reach of the Wave Relay® network over the horizon and across continents, enabling global joint operations.

System Security

Recognizing that security and interoperability must evolve together, Persistent has pursued multiple validations to provide mission partners with the highest level of assurance.

Our two most recent accreditations include:

These certifications apply to the MACsec and IPsec layers of our Cloud Relay solution, accelerating the approval process for transmitting classified data over multinational networks.

Now, U.S. and allied forces can securely share sensitive National Security Information on the same network—provided reciprocity exists between the partner nations.

With the release of the PT5, which utilizes host-nation 5G to connect both deployed units and command centers, Cloud Relay becomes even more accessible. Importantly, MACsec and IPsec encryption layers remain independent of the cellular network, ensuring end-to-end security.

This innovation solves a decades-long challenge: how to maintain data security while ensuring seamless, high-speed communication among allied partners.

Baltic Sea Example

One real-world example of a multi-national deployment is in the Baltic Sea region, where three countries have implemented Persistent’s network to enhance shared maritime domain awareness.

The Baltic Sea has become a focal point for NATO, given its proximity to one of the world’s largest near-peer threats. The region spans over 145,000 square miles and is traversed by critical undersea infrastructure. Recent incidents, such as the severing of undersea power and fiber optic cables, underscore the crucial need for persistent maritime surveillance.

Maritime domain awareness involves real-time understanding of what is occurring in a maritime region that could pose a national threat. Beyond interoperability, countries in the region have struggled with poor connectivity in areas beyond line of sight (BLOS) and the absence of fixed communications infrastructure.

Persistent addressed this with its Infrastructure-based Regional Operation Network (IRON) solution, which combines mounted Integrated Sector Antennas and MPU5s to create a rapidly deployable Wave Relay MANET. The MPU5s are installed along the coastline, where each connection acts as a relay node, effectively extending the network over long distances.

With all three nations selecting an IRON solution, the Wave Relay Network now supports secure, real-time communications across more than 2,500+ miles of coastal territory.

This enables data sharing across ships, aircraft, ground vehicles, unmanned systems, and troops, all while preserving national control of sensitive data via robust security segmentation. Allied forces can now operate with network federation, ensuring seamless cooperation without compromising sovereignty.

Hanlon describes the system as “a groundbreaking leap forward for the Baltic Sea Region – a region so critical to global security.”

As the first network of this size in Europe, it provides these countries with enhanced situational awareness and serves as a blueprint for other nations to follow.

The Future of Multi-National Networks

With the growing likelihood that future conflicts will demand real-time, interoperable communications between nations, Persistent expects multinational networks to continue expanding – connecting more allies over greater distances.

As the need for multinational forces dominates the future, Persistent is on a mission to create the world’s largest global communications fabric, where every nation, sensor, unmanned system, vehicle, and aircraft can communicate securely in real time across a single flat network in any domain.

This vision fuels our technology roadmap, because warfighters must be able to operate jointly, starting with the ability to communicate anytime, anywhere, with any partner – under the highest level of security.

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