Russia's Barrage-1 Completes 5G NTN Communication Test at 17 km Altitude

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Russian Advanced Research Foundation (FPI) "Barrage" project has completed a 5G communication test of the Barrage-1 unmanned stratospheric platform. During the test, the platform established a continuous 5G connection with a ground communication station at an altitude of 17 km and continuously transmitted 2K video for more than 80 minutes. The trial also verified the capability of the 5G NTN link for user data transmission as well as platform telemetry, control, and command communications.

Barrage-1 completed its first flight in February 2026, with a design operating altitude of up to approximately 20 km and the capacity to carry up to 100 kg of payload, including communication equipment. The platform was developed with the participation of Aerodrommash and Bauman Moscow State Technical University, with support from FPI. This test further validated the communication payload and non-terrestrial network link on the basis of the first flight.

During this flight, Barrage-1 maintained continuous video transmission after entering the coverage area of the ground communication station, while simultaneously establishing a 5G NTN control link. The project's technical approach targets stratospheric high-altitude platform communications by carrying communication payloads on unmanned platforms, connecting them to ground mobile communication networks, and undertaking data relay and platform control tasks.

As early as September 2025, FPI disclosed the test plan for Barrage-1 equipped with 5G equipment and proposed advancing the deployment of such platforms starting from 2027 after the completion of testing. The project team has also conducted research with mobile communication operators on applications of high-altitude communication platforms, with target scenarios including areas where traditional ground base station construction is difficult.

The Barrage project belongs to a different technical approach from other 5G NTN systems being advanced in Russia. Barrage-1 uses an unmanned stratospheric platform to serve as a non-terrestrial communication node; Bureau 1440, by contrast, conducts 5G NTN testing via low-Earth-orbit satellites and launched its first batch of 16 related satellites in March 2026.