STOCKHOLM — Global telecommunications equipment leader Ericsson has officially introduced the Ericsson Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) System, a commercial network architecture designed to transform existing cellular infrastructure into a wide area situational awareness grid capable of detecting and tracking low flying, fast moving airborne objects such as drones without requiring the targets to be connected to the mobile network.
Following months of field validation, Ericsson confirmed that the commercial rollout of the ISAC System will proceed in structured phases, commencing with small scale, sensing only commercial pilot deployments alongside selected telecommunications operators in 2027, ahead of broader commercial scaling starting in 2028. Full simultaneous integrated communications and sensing capabilities will be incorporated into the platform as radio access networks evolve toward sixth generation (6G) standards.
The technological launch addresses a critical national security and public safety vulnerability created by the proliferation of compact, low cost unmanned aerial vehicles utilized for unauthorized surveillance, organized crime, industrial sabotage, and asymmetric warfare. While dedicated point sensors remain vital for localized site defense, scaling standalone radar arrays across expansive geographic corridors requires prohibitive capital expenditure. The Ericsson ISAC System bridges this low altitude detection gap by leveraging existing 5G infrastructure, including macro cell towers, fiber backhaul, and licensed spectrum across urban centers and transport corridors, combining sensing capable 5G radios with edge computing, artificial intelligence classification, and advanced signal processing to complement conventional radar systems.
Operating as a multi static sensing architecture, the platform distributes radio signal transmission and reception across multiple geographically separated cellular base stations. By analyzing how ambient radio frequency waves bounce off airborne objects from multiple simultaneous angles, the system achieves high detection confidence, continuous trajectory tracking, and resilient coverage. In validated field tests, the platform reliably detected and tracked micro drones at kilometer scale distances with precise three dimensional positioning, streaming standardized telemetry and AI classification data directly into external defense command and control platforms and unmanned aircraft mitigation systems.
Ericsson has already validated the architecture across three live international 5G demonstrations. In Arlington, Texas, field trials conducted alongside AT&T utilized real time sensing dashboards to detect, locate, and track multiple airborne dronessimultaneously, demonstrating how commercial wireless grids can safeguard major stadiums and critical infrastructure. In Helsinki, a joint demonstration with Finnish public safety operator Erillisverkot linked multiple 5G sites to support counter unmanned aircraft system operations alongside traditional sensors. Concurrently, a tri party trial in Poland uniting Ericsson, mobile carrier Play, and technology firm Asseco integrated Ericsson’s ISAC radio technology with Play’s cellular network and Asseco’s PUSZCZYK acoustic detection platform to pinpoint low flying drones with heightened spatial accuracy.
Target commercial verticals for the platform encompass national defense and border security along coastlines, critical infrastructure protection for maritime ports and power generation plants, railway and highway transport safety, and emerging low altitude economy applications such as urban air mobility traffic management and real time smart city digital twins.
Freddie Södergren, Global Head of Mission Critical Networks and Defense at Ericsson, stated that low flying drones create a persistent airspace coverage gap that no single standalone sensor technology can resolve independently. Södergren emphasized that the Ericsson ISAC System empowers multiple 5G cell sites to deliver coordinated wide area detection and continuous tracking that integrates seamlessly into defense command centers while giving mobile operators a commercial pathway to monetize existing network assets.
Joe Madden, Principal Analyst at Mobile Experts, noted that Ericsson’s platform proves cellular network sensing can perform significantly better than industry expectations by converting complex radio frequency reflections into highly accurate tracking of uncooperative airborne targets, offering a faster and more cost efficient deployment model than constructing dedicated sensor networks from scratch.
