Located in an island environment with complex maritime weather and terrain, Dalian Changhai Airport requires enhanced monitoring of low-altitude airspace. Traditional patrol methods and single-sensor systems previously left coverage gaps for low, slow, and small targets such as drones and bird flocks. Response times to runway intrusions often exceeded several minutes, creating challenges for safe and efficient test flight activities.
The new solution deploys ZTE's millimeter-wave ISAC base stations that combine high-capacity 5G connectivity with high-precision sensing in the same infrastructure. Reflected signals are processed to determine target position, speed, and trajectory with sub-meter accuracy, eliminating the need for separate radar equipment. At the network edge, integrated computing boards run artificial intelligence models that combine cellular sensing data with video and geographic information, enabling real-time identification and classification of multiple targets.
The system uses RedCap technology to provide reliable coverage across airspace, runways, and ground facilities, including areas previously difficult to reach. China Unicom Liaoning managed overall planning, network deployment, integration, and ongoing operations. ZTE supplied the ISAC base stations, local core network, and complete private network solution, while Dalian Changhai Airport defined operational requirements and coordinated implementation.
Since entering 24/7 service, the network has delivered strong results: detection accuracy for low-altitude targets reaching 98 percent, blind-spot rate for small targets reduced from 30 percent to 5 percent, and average response time to runway events shortened from 15 minutes to 2 minutes. Manual patrols have decreased from every two hours to once per day, with no safety incidents recorded across more than 120 test flights.
Security measures include physical isolation of the private network, local deployment of core components, encrypted transmission, and edge-based data processing to protect sensitive information. China Unicom Liaoning maintains round-the-clock monitoring, achieving network availability above 99.99 percent.
The platform establishes a foundation for future low-altitude economy applications and can be extended to drone management and integrated air-ground services. Compared with traditional separate communications and radar systems, the unified ISAC approach reduces infrastructure footprint and overall investment while improving deployment speed.
The partners plan to replicate the model at other regional airports and controlled environments, further enhancing coverage and precision. The project demonstrates an effective, scalable template for applying 5G-A private networks with integrated sensing and intelligent computing in critical infrastructure settings.
