Airbus and Ericsson accelerate industrial digitalization with private 5G deployment at Hamburg and Toulouse plants

Airbus and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have successfully deployed a private 5G solution at the Airbus production site in Hamburg, with another deployment underway in Toulouse. This initiative forms part of Airbus’ ambitious digitalization strategy, aimed at strengthening manufacturing automation, traceability, and operational efficiency, while meeting the sector’s strictest safety and security standards. 

The partnership between Ericsson and Airbus leverages Ericsson Private 5G, recognized for its reliability, security, and high performance. The solution’s built-in infrastructure automation enabled rapid deployment across Airbus’ operations, significantly shortening implementation timelines compared to traditional setups. This automation allowed Airbus to scale connectivity quickly and securely across multiple sites. Close collaboration with the Ericsson product team ensured seamless integration, with the solution tailored to Airbus’ IT-tooling and cybersecurity requirements. The design’s modular architecture and API-driven interfaces simplified onboarding into Airbus’ existing systems, accelerating time-to-value and reinforcing robust security controls.  

With a fully operational private 5G network now live in Hamburg and deployment at Toulouse underway (to be completed by 2026), this rollout is part of a broader roadmap to extend private 5G across Airbus’ strategic sites in Europe — including further locations in Spain, the United Kingdom, and internationally, with projects in the United States pending.  

This effort reflects Airbus’ commitment to standardizing digital operations and scaling innovation across its global footprint. 

Hakim Achouri, 5G expert at Airbus, says: “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. The standardization and scalability made possible by this architecture allow us to replicate the solution easily across further sites in Europe and worldwide.” 

Manish Tiwari, Head of Enterprise 5G, Enterprise Wireless Solutions, Ericsson, says: “Our collaboration with Airbus embodies the alliance between technological innovation and  industrial excellence. Ericsson is proud to support Airbus’ digitalization ambitions through Ericsson Private 5G, offering best-in-class, secure connectivity at scale.” 

Ericsson Private 5G forms the backbone of Airbus’ 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. With seamless, full-site coverage with private 5G, machines and operators on the production floor gain true mobility, boosting productivity, process agility, and end-to-end industrial control, all of which are key to realizing the full potential of Industry 4.0.  

This new phase underscores Airbus and Ericsson’s commitment to the future of industrial connectivity, featuring advanced 5G Standalone (SA) technology and next-generation deployment models, which are also poised to accelerate 5G usage in office environments. Additionally, joint R&D efforts focus on connected cabins, 6G, and nonterrestrial networks (NTN), enhancing the connectivity ecosystem for aerospace and smart manufacturing applications. 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.