Vodafone and Airbus expand mission-critical communications partnership with RugGear rugged devices

• Vodafone to offer emergency services and public safety organisations a single communications solution including critical networks, secure collaborative apps and rugged devices.
• Vodafone and Airbus extend partnership to include RugGear – a global leader in the provision of rugged devices and mission critical services.

Emergency services and critical industries across Europe can now pair RugGear’s ultra-tough devices, radios and tablets with Vodafone’s Mission Critical Communications (MCx) service and Airbus’s secure collaboration platform, thanks to a new partnership between the three companies.

RugGear, a global leader in rugged devices with a manufacturing facility in Germany, is today joining the existing partnership between Vodafone and Airbus Public Safety and Security, part of Airbus Defence and Space.

The deal will allow Vodafone to offer emergency services and business customers a bundled mission-critical package. It combines Vodafone’s MCx service, which prioritises calls, messages and data over 4G and 5G, and future direct-to-device (D2D) mobile broadband satellite services, with Airbus’s cloud-based or on-premise communication solution and RugGear’s rugged devices for users working in mission and business critical areas.

With nearly three-quarters of smartphone users damaging their handset, most often by water or impact damage, Public Protection Disaster Relief (PPDR) organisations and people working in challenging conditions need highly durable and responsive devices. RugGear’s Android-based devices are designed to make the most of modern mobile networks, including 5G, while offering longer battery life and greater durability and reliability than consumer handsets.

Marika Auramo, CEO of Vodafone Business, said: “Together with Airbus and RugGear, we can give organisations a complete mission-critical communications solution, combining secure, resilient connectivity, collaborative applications and rugged devices. This helps customers protect their people and the public, whether they are operating critical infrastructure, first responders or managing major transport hubs.”

Olivier Koczan, Head of Public Safety and Security at Airbus Defence and Space, added: “We are thrilled to expand our collaboration with Vodafone by bringing RugGear on board. Together, we are delivering a robust, highly secure communication ecosystem. By combining Agnet’s advanced collaboration capabilities with RugGear's rugged devices and prioritised 5G connectivity, we are giving critical industries the ultimate toolset to protect both their teams and the public.”

Maverick Chen, CEO of RugGear, said: “Our rugged and durable devices harness the power of 4G and 5G networks to deliver safe, reliable and efficient mission-critical communications. Together with Vodafone and Airbus, we ensure frontline teams can fully leverage Vodafone’s MCx prioritization and Airbus’s secure collaboration layers in the most demanding real-world scenarios.”

The agreement with RugGear, unveiled at the Critical Communications World event in London (16-18 June 2026), strengthens the existing partnership between Vodafone and Airbus which was signed this time last year. Organisations, including governments, energy providers, airports, transport companies, and essential utilities such as water and electricity, can now source everything they need from Vodafone through its digital marketplace.

The solution has three key components:

• Secure and responsive connectivity. Built on global 3GPP standards, MCx prioritises calls, messages and video for emergency teams, enabling fast, secure communications in a crisis. It replaces legacy systems such as TETRA with encrypted smartphone-based tools that let teams share live video updates, drone footage and critical information in real time. After launching first in Germany, Vodafone is now rolling out MCx across Europe.

   

• Airbus’s secure critical communications solution, Agnet, works over MCx. It connects large groups of users in the field with control rooms in a secure and collaborative network. Features such as live video feeds enable field commanders to monitor factors such as the surrounding area, traffic and their team’s physical location.

   

• Robust devices. RugGear devices are compatible with Vodafone MCx. They are tested to military-grade standards to operate in extreme conditions with built-in features such as high lumen torches, alarms, industrial scanners, GPS tracking, and push-to-talk capabilities. Unlike traditional networks and 2-way radios, 4G and 5G enhances RugGear’s devices with HD video streaming for remote inspections and integrated Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for connectivity with other smart devices and infrastructure.

Note to Editors

MCx forms a major part of Vodafone’s strategy to provide Europe with a highly resilient digital infrastructure by integrating land-based mobile and fixed broadband networks, subsea cable links and new D2D mobile broadband satellite services.

Customers can purchase Agnet by Airbus software products (cloud-based and on-premise housed at the customer’s data centre) and choose from a range of RugGear devices via the Vodafone online digital marketplace. In addition to RugGear devices, the Vodafone Airbus solution is compatible with all standard iOS and selected Android devices.