Latvia’s LMT Defence and Thales Italia have agreed to cooperate on the development of mobile communications-based technologies for drone detection and counter-uncrewed aerial vehicle (C-UAV) applications.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they will assess how LMT’s mobile network expertise, products and services could be combined with Thales Italia’s defence 4G and 5G technologies.
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The objective, according to Thales, is to explore methods of tracking and identifying drones using mobile phone networks and behavioural analysis.
This cooperation also provides a framework for developing further use cases, with the potential to progress towards a proof of concept (PoC), subject to mutual agreement on its scope, resources and milestones.
The collaboration emerged from their joint involvement in the 5G Communications for Peacekeeping and Defence (5G COMPAD) project, which is supported by the European Defence Fund.
The project focuses on integrating commercial 5G technologies with defence communications infrastructure.
Both firms are also taking part in the next phase of this initiative, known as 5G COMPAD 2.0.
The MoU draws on LMT Defence’s experience as both a mobile network operator and defence technology integrator, allowing emerging systems to be assessed in realistic network environments and supporting their further development and validation.
LMT Defence head Salvis Skladovs said: “Modern warfare is becoming increasingly complex, and countering emerging aerial threats requires more than just dedicated military hardware; it demands seamless, multi-layered integration.
“By combining LMT’s expertise – as a mobile network operator and defence technology integrator – with Thales Italia’s advanced 4G/5G defence solutions, we are bridging the gap between commercial telecoms infrastructure and tactical defence applications.
“Building on our shared success within the 5G COMPAD framework, this MoU allows us to push the boundaries of Integrated Sensing and Communication, ensuring that future drone detection capabilities are built on a foundation of robust, mission-critical connectivity.”
