Spanish telecommunications group Telefónica and Portuguese telecommunications and IT company NOS Comunicações have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in developing advanced digital technologies for European defense and security applications. The agreement covers secure communications, advanced connectivity and digital services intended to support military operations, autonomous systems and other emerging defense requirements. The partnership also reflects the growing importance of telecommunications infrastructure in Europe's efforts to strengthen technological sovereignty and improve interoperability between national defense systems.
The bilateral agreement follows a year of joint technical work and was formalized during REPMUS 26 (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems), an international exercise focused on unmanned systems and emerging maritime technologies held in Portugal. During the exercises, Telefónica and NOS demonstrated how their respective 5G infrastructures could be integrated to support communications and digital applications across different operational environments.
The demonstration highlighted the potential for telecommunications operators from different countries to combine network capabilities and provide coordinated connectivity services for defense users. Such integration is particularly relevant for military operations involving multiple national forces, distributed command structures and autonomous platforms that depend on reliable, low-latency communications.
Javier López Gutiérrez, Director of Defense and Security at Telefónica España, said the agreement would contribute to European technological sovereignty by enabling the development of solutions aligned with the operational requirements of defense organizations.
The cooperation was supported by the Spanish and Portuguese navies, which provided an operational environment for evaluating the technologies and assessing their potential applications. According to López Gutiérrez, this approach will help the companies develop communications solutions that address the practical needs of defense users within the European Union and NATO.
João Ricardo Moreira, Board Member at NOS Comunicações, emphasized the importance of cross-border coordination in the evolving European defense and security environment.
“This collaboration takes on particular significance in the current European context, as the new defense and security landscape requires digital infrastructure capable of operating in a coordinated manner across national borders, where it is necessary to ensure secure, resilient, and interoperable communications,” Moreira said.
Under the memorandum of understanding, the two companies will continue exploring technological cooperation in several areas, including network interoperability, secure communications, edge computing, artificial intelligence, advanced 5G and next-generation connectivity architectures.
A significant part of the cooperation will involve examining how these technologies can be integrated with military command-and-control systems, autonomous platforms and emerging defense applications. The ability to connect different systems and operational platforms through secure telecommunications networks is becoming increasingly important as defense organizations introduce more connected equipment, unmanned vehicles and data-driven operational capabilities.
Advanced 5G infrastructure can support these applications through high-capacity data transmission, low-latency communications and flexible network architectures. Edge computing offers additional possibilities by processing information closer to connected devices and operational systems, reducing dependence on distant computing infrastructure. Artificial intelligence can further support data processing and the coordination of increasingly complex connected systems.
For defense applications, however, such capabilities must operate within communications architectures that meet demanding requirements for security, resilience and interoperability. This is particularly important in multinational operations where telecommunications networks, command systems and connected platforms may be provided by different national organizations or technology suppliers.
The agreement also extends the existing relationship between Telefónica and NOS within ALAIAN, an international telecommunications innovation network that brings together operators, technology companies and startups developing solutions based on 5G and related technologies.
Through this ecosystem, the two companies intend to strengthen connections with open innovation initiatives focused on dual-use technologies, which can be deployed in both civilian and military environments. Areas such as secure connectivity, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and distributed computing offer opportunities to transfer capabilities developed for commercial telecommunications networks into defense and security applications.
The cooperation between Telefónica and NOS illustrates the expanding role of telecommunications operators in Europe's defense technology landscape. Beyond providing conventional connectivity services, operators are increasingly positioned to contribute network infrastructure, computing capabilities and systems integration expertise to military digital transformation projects.
For both companies, the next phase will involve translating the technical capabilities demonstrated during REPMUS 26 into practical solutions that can operate across national networks and support the requirements of European defense organizations. The memorandum establishes a framework for further technological cooperation, although the companies have not disclosed financial commitments, specific commercial projects or a timetable for deploying the resulting solutions.
