Seamless Integration of Tactical Radios into Multi-Access 5G Systems

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 15 introduced 5G technology, offering significant operational advantages for military communications. However, its radio access technology, 5G New Radio (NR), remains vulnerable to a range of threats. The Multi-Access (MA) connectivity feature enables 5G services over both 5G NR and non-3GPP access networks. In Release 16, MA connectivity is enhanced through Access Traffic Steering, Switching, and Splitting (ATSSS), ensuring seamless service continuity across heterogeneous networks. Recognizing MA connectivity as a mitigation measure, this paper presents a standards-compliant, open-source implementation of ATSSS using Multipath TCP (MPTCP) in an MA 5G system integrating tactical radios as non-3GPP access alongside 5G NR. Validation using over-the-air 5G NR and L3Harris AN/PRC-152A tactical radios demonstrates seamless failover and load balancing, confirming the operational relevance of MPTCP-based ATSSS for military applications.