Airspan joins ARES European mission-critical communications consortium

By AI, Created 9:01 AM UTC, June 03, 2026, /AGP/ – Airspan Networks has joined the ARES consortium led by Oramach and iVent Mobile to help build a sovereign, Europe-wide communications platform for defense, public safety and emergency response. The initiative pairs air-to-ground and satellite connectivity and is already moving through regional pilots and deployment planning.

Why it matters: - ARES is meant to give Europe an independent communications backbone for defense, public safety and emergency-response missions. - The platform is being designed to work during crises, natural disasters and contested operations, when public networks may fail. - The consortium says the system will support airborne, terrestrial and maritime users with secure, high-capacity connectivity. - The effort aligns with the European Commission’s May 27 decision to reserve one third of the 2 GHz MSS S-band for critical communications services.

What happened: - Oramach and iVent Mobile announced that Airspan Networks has joined the ARES, or Asymmetric Response European System, initiative as a partner. - The announcement was made June 3, 2026, in Brussels. - Airspan’s addition is intended to expand the consortium’s work in air-to-ground networks, Open RAN technologies and mission-critical wireless systems. - Airspan brings experience from building what the consortium describes as the world’s largest 4G/5G air-to-ground network.

The details: - ARES is a pan-European initiative focused on developing a sovereign and resilient communications platform. - The network architecture combines air-to-ground and satellite communications. - The platform is designed for rapid deployment using S-band spectrum. - The consortium says it will use commercially available dual-use technologies and COTS components. - The planned system is meant to provide a secure and interoperable communications backbone for government, defense and civil-protection use. - Mission-critical applications include secure communications for drones, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, emergency-response vehicles, border-security operations and maritime assets. - Regional pilot programs are already underway. - A detailed deployment architecture for Europe’s eastern border regions has been completed. - The network is designed for high availability, cyber resilience and operational continuity for real-time mission-critical operations. - Oramach specializes in digitizing drone, helicopter and eVTOL operations. - Oramach was established as a spin-out from SkyFive. - iVent Mobile provides secure carrier-grade communications infrastructure for aviation, maritime and government operations. - Airspan Networks supplies wireless communications infrastructure and Open RAN technologies.

Between the lines: - The addition of Airspan signals that ARES is moving from concept-building toward an execution phase with more specialized wireless expertise. - The focus on sovereign infrastructure reflects broader European concern about relying on non-European communications systems in security-sensitive settings. - The dual air-to-ground and satellite design suggests the consortium wants redundancy, coverage and flexibility across multiple domains.

What’s next: - The consortium is expected to keep advancing pilot programs and deployment planning across Europe. - The eastern-border architecture will likely serve as an early reference model for broader rollout. - Airspan’s role will center on helping the consortium scale wireless infrastructure and Open RAN capabilities for operational use.

The bottom line: - ARES is shaping up as a Europe-first mission-critical network effort, and Airspan’s entry adds technical depth as the consortium pushes toward deployable infrastructure.