Nokia and NestAI Partner on 5G Defence AI

Nokia Defense and NestAI, a European AI lab focused on defence applications, have begun developing their first operational capabilities designed to deliver AI-enabled military systems backed by resilient connectivity. 

This development marks the expansion of a technology partnership established in November 2025, following a €100m (US$134m) joint investment in NestAI, by Nokia and Tesi.

Integrated Sensing and Communications

Communication, sensing and mission-planning systems must function in harmony, while demanding secure and reliable connectivity in denied environments.

To address these challenges, the partnership is delivering three operational capabilities. 

One focuses on earlier threat detection and response. This system combines Nokia’s Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) early-detection capability with NestAI’s multi-sensor tracking. Through doing so operators will have earlier, wide-area threat awareness even in contested environments with little connectivity. It will also aid and speed up decision-making. 

While the two companies did not explicitly mention it in their announcement, ISAC can be used for real-time drone detection and tracking – which is much needed, given the degree to which drones have transformed the Russo-Ukraine war and the nature of future conflicts.

Another capabiltity is AI-enabled command-and-control over deployable 5G networks. This merges Nokia's deployable 5G network hardware with NestOS, which is NestAI's adaptive operating system designed for modern battlefield operations. 

The combined system will help European military forces maintain essential command and control, support their deployment of autonomous systems and reduce their overall reliance on fixed communications infrastructure.

Finally, the companies are combining communication security with mission planning. By integrating Nokia’s radio-network planning models directly into NestOS mission-planning tools, military forces can assess, plan and adapt connectivity as part of a mission. This reduces the risk of wireless coverage gaps during fast-moving multidomain operations.

“Defence is moving quickly to adopt AI-enabled capabilities, from mission planning to unmanned operations,” says Mikko Hautala, Chief Geopolitical & Government Relations Officer and Chairman, Nokia Defense. 

“But AI only works in the field when it has secure, resilient connectivity behind it. Together with NestAI, Nokia is accelerating the sovereign technologies NATO needs to operate, decide and act in the next generation of missions.”

Meeting NATO operational requirements

These newly developed capabilities are specifically designed to withstand the harsh conditions modern military forces face. These include denied communications, active electronic warfare attacks and emerging drone threats that must be identified before dedicated sensors can acquire and track them. 

The collaboration addresses all three capability areas using European-developed technologies built to meet strict NATO operational requirements, at a time when European defence spending is rising rapidly. 

“Most defence AI is built on assumptions about connectivity, sensor access, and infrastructure that do not hold in contested environments,” says Peter Sarlin, Founder and Executive Chairman, NestAI. 

“What we are building with Nokia addresses the real conditions European forces face, from the network underneath to the threats at the edge, on technology that Europe develops and controls.”

Nokia Defense focuses on providing secure, intelligent connectivity solutions designed for defence operations in the AI era. 

Drawing on Nokia’s global footprint across fixed, mobile and transport networks, the division delivers resilient, mission-ready communications solutions built to strengthen national security and support critical military operations worldwide.