Lockheed Martin tracks drones through unmodified Verizon 5G network

Lockheed Martin says it detected and tracked drones using a commercial 5G network without modifying the operator’s deployed radios, in a demonstration the company presents as a route to wide-area airspace monitoring built on infrastructure that is already installed. 

The demonstration took place in the Miami area in July 2026 and involved Verizon, NVIDIA, Keysight Technologies, ODC, and Astris AI, Lockheed Martin’s wholly owned subsidiary.  

According to Lockheed Martin, its NetSense system detected the drones, alerted the team, and maintained track custody through the flight. 

Turning cellular signals into a drone sensor 

A drone flies during a July 2026 demonstration of Lockheed Martin’s NetSense 5G-based detection system in the Miami area. (Credit: Lockheed Martin)Instead of adding radars or dedicated radio frequency sensors, NetSense analyzes disturbances in the signals already traversing the cellular network. ODC supplied AI-native radio access network software, NVIDIA contributed its AI Aerial platform to process radio frequency measurements at the network edge, and Keysight provided simulation and test tooling. Lockheed Martin’s algorithms then predict a drone’s flight path and generate alerts. 

The company said the demonstration showed that drones can be sensed without changes to deployed cellular radios, avoiding the cost of recapitalizing telecom infrastructure and arriving ahead of 6G integrated sensing and communication standards.  

Anil Guntupali, Senior Vice President of Technology and Product Development at Verizon, said applying AI to the signal measurement data already crossing the network turns it into an intelligent sensing platform. 

Drone detection subscription service 

Lockheed Martin plans to sell NetSense as a subscription that interfaces with a customer’s existing security operations. Pilot deployments are planned for the second half of 2026 and early 2027, with general commercial availability in 2027 and early access limited to select customers. 

Lockheed Martin did not disclose detection range, the number of cell sites involved, the types or sizes of drones flown, the altitudes at which they were tracked, or false alarm rates. Those figures matter most at airports, where nuisance alerts carry direct operational costs. The company also did not say whether the technique detects any airframe crossing the signal environment or only those emitting radio frequency energy of their own. 

While NetSense addresses only the detection and tracking layer, Lockheed Martin also markets Sanctum, an interceptor-based system it live-fired against a Group 3 drone in June 2026.  

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Airspace protection has become a global growth market. An FAA-led counter-drone operation around the 2026 World Cup, whose host cities included Miami, resulted in the seizure of more than 700 unauthorized drones.  The post Lockheed Martin tracks drones through unmodified Verizon 5G network appeared first on AeroTime.

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