Verizon Communications (VZ  ) unveiled the Tactical Humanitarian Operations Response (THOR) vehicle on Wednesday; the cutting-edge mobile command center is the culmination of three decades of partnership between the company and partners such as the Department of Defense.

With the ability to deploy a 5G network in the field and maintain satellite communications and an onboard observation drone, THOR, to me, almost seems like the classic "command vehicle" from various science fiction franchises realized in the real world. The hardy truck, built on a modified Ford (F  ) F650 frame, is touted by Verizon to be ready for operations in hazardous environments, military, civilian, or otherwise.

"Even with 5G technology more accessible than ever, in some situations there is still an opportunity to enhance the network and technological capabilities of those in public safety and the U.S. military. Whether operating in an austere military environment, fighting wildfires in forests across the western U. S. where network connections and coverage can be challenging, or dealing with the devastation and infrastructure damage caused by hurricanes or tornadoes, public safety professionals and service members face the potential of coverage and technology gaps or an out-of-service network," Verizon said in its press release.

Based on Verizon's description of THOR's capabilities, if it had armor plating and a gun turret, I might be confident in saying they had basically built the command APC from Aliens. From a business perspective, however, I can understand why Verizon would bring such a vehicle to market when it did. The recent trend of intense weather events across the world, including record drought in California and intense storm systems across the Northeast, is one that will only continue as the effects of climate change take hold. THOR would appear to be Verizon's answer to disaster response in such a future.

A Tech Crunch wrote in May, many telecom firms are investing heavily in resiliency as of late, with THOR only one of the various projects currently under development by the communications sector. Given the massive networks that major American telecom firms such as Verizon and AT&T (T  ) operate and the increasing reliance by governments on digital connectivity, the wave of investment in reliability and resiliency by telecom firms seems to be well timed. With weather events only getting more intense over time, the timing of telecom firms' efforts may give them ample time to plan for a more chaotic future.