A little less than a year after Verizon and Lockheed Martin announced plans to collaborate on 5G integrated military communications (5G.MIL), the two companies revealed that they recently used four 5G-enabled drones to capture and transfer intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data from aircraft in flight and used it to geolocate military targets.
The companies said that the purpose of the demonstration was to show how millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G networks can be used to move data from an aircraft in flight. The test occurred at Lockheed Martin’s 5G test range in Waterton, Colorado, and used Lockheed’s 5G.MIL pilot network.
The companies tested two applications. The first test involved transmitting real-time ISR RF and streaming video data over 5G mmWave links and then using advanced signal processing algorithms to process that data at the network edge and display it in a livestream video feed.
The second test involved using the 5G-enabled drones to passively detect and geolocate RF signals that could be used for communications, sensing, or jamming. This capability, in particular, could be used by the Department of Defense (DOD) to detect adversarial military targets.
For both applications, Lockheed Martin flew the four 5G-enabled drones on coordinated ISR missions while linked to two Verizon on-site private network nodes. The private network nodes allowed for the secure transfer of the ISR data, Lockheed said. The companies then moved that data captured by the drones between the 5G private network and a surrogate public network to show how both private and public networks can be used to extend the reach of the 5G.MIL technology.
This latest demonstration builds on an agreement that Lockheed Martin signed with Verizon last November in which both companies agreed to collaborate on 5G.MIL technologies. Lockheed says its 5G.MIL program integrates both military and enterprise networks and also leverages the existing public telecom infrastructure.
Last year Verizon installed a private 5G network at Lockheed Martin Space’s 5G Test Range in Colorado and connected it to another Lockheed Martin facility in Texas.
Verizon has been working closely with the DOD and was selected last September to outfit seven Air Force installations with its 5G Ultra Wideband service.