Military Embedded Systems

At the close of SOF Week 2026 in Tampa, Global SOF Foundation COO Meaghan Keeler discusses the Global SOF’s co-sponsorship with the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), meeting objectives of USSOCOM Commander Admiral Bradley, the large increase in event attendance, and the successful launch of the new “Outpost” aviation and drone hub at Peter O’Knight Airport.

One of the standout moments of SOF Week 2026 in Tampa, Florida, was the live USSOCOM capabilities demonstration, showcasing the speed, coordination and operational flexibility of modern special operations forces. The large-scale demonstration featured a range of maritime, aerial and tactical capabilities executed by Special Operations Forces and partner units in front of crowds gathered across Tampa’s waterfront.

The fastest growing part of the SOF Week exhibits floor over the last few years has been companies focused on autonomous systems – air, ground, and sea – many carrying artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. The 2026 event, for which we are again the Official Show Daily and Show Guide producer and where this issue is distributed, promises even more growth in these areas.

SOF WEEK, Tampa Florida. Engineers at AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (made two additions to the company’s AV_Halo unified mission software platform: AV_Halo INSTINCT, a next-generation autonomy framework for multi-platform uncrewed systems (UxS), and AV_Halo DETECT, an advanced radio frequency (RF) sensing and security solution for contested and denied environments. They re debuting the capability at SOF Week this week in Tampa.

Ahead of SOF Week 2026 in Tampa, Global SOF Foundation President & CEO Stu Bradin discusses the rapid growth of the event, the launch of the new “Outpost” aviation and drone hub at Peter O’Knight Airport, and why special operations continues to gain strategic importance worldwide.

SOF WEEK 2026. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) will host a live cpabilities demonstration during SOF Week 2026 outside of the Tampa Convention Center. USSOCOM collaborates with 10 partner nations, taking over the Tampa Bay waterfront for a simulation featuring the future of special operations technology and tactical innovation on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.

Within Special Operations every solution starts with a nonnegotiable – cyber and security is never sacrificed for speed, because it doesn't really matter if the data moves fast but can't be trusted, said Peter O’Donoghue, CTO of Tyto Athene, during this SOF Week Show Daily version of the McHale Report Podcast. “Philosophically we believe that compromised intelligence is not intelligence at all,” he added. He and I covered how to enable network security in hostile environments and how artificial intelligence can help U.S. forces dominate the information space. We also discussed Tyto Athene’s TALON technology accelerator lab and how direct feedback from Special Operations Forces personnel aids in their system designs.  

Special Operations Forces (SOF) teams have to be ready at a moment’s notice to go anywhere and do almost anything that level of professionalism require high-level agility, adaptability, and performance, said Michael MacFadden, CTO of Sigma Defense Systems, during this SOF Week Show Daily version of the McHale Report Podcast. He and I discussed how leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML)for software mobility enables that agility. We also discuss Sigma Defense’s Aries family for tactical ISR applications, CJADC2, and how working directly with Special Operations Forces operators impacts how he and his team design systems.

There is a pressing need within not just the Special Operations community but across the military services and whole government to understand and identify what are the narrative messages our adversaries are putting against us, says Bill Wall, CEO and Co-founder of Accrete AI Government, during this SOF Week Show Daily version of the McHale Report Podcast. He and I also ways the U.S. military can achieve information dominance, how artificial intelligence (AI) can enable a cognitive advantage, and Accrete’s Knowledge Engine platform. We also talk about what has him most excited about SOF Week. 

SOF WEEK 2026 - TAMPA, Fla. – Admiral Frank M. Bradley, 14th commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), will deliver the keynote address at the SOF Week 2026 on Tuesday morning, May 19.

The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) is a narrowband military satellite communications system used to provide warfighters with secure, high-quality voice and data communication. Although it has been successfully deployed for decades, MUOS technology is still not pervasive. In this podcast with Jason Ferguson, President of W5 Technologies, we discuss why MUOS may have gotten a “bad rap” in the past, how it fits into the defense industry today, and the technology and design trends that support it. We also cover how MUOS solutions meet the modular open systems approach (MOSA) mandate, MUOS sustainment, industry testing, and more.

Managing obsolescence is a forever problem for military system designers as defense platforms last for decades and commercial component lifespans last on average 18 months. In this podcast with Daniel Deisz, VP of Design Technology at Rochester Electronics, we discuss the military aftermarket world, component recreation, anchoring of semiconductor manufacturing, counterfeit parts, the impact of modular open systems approach (MOSA) strategies on sustainment, and more.

The modular open systems approach (MOSA) mandated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in 2019 for all new programs and upgrades has been embraced by all the services, including the U.S. Navy, which produced a MOSA Guidebook on how and why to implement MOSA. In this interview I conducted with Jason Thomas, Systems Engineering Lead for the Department of the Navy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, Test and Engineering, at the September 2025 MOSA Industry & Government Summit, we discussed the guidebook, the current momentum of MOSA strategies, and the benefits of MOSA from a systems-engineering perspective. We also explored common misconceptions regarding MOSA, metrics for measuring MOSA success, and what Thomas would like to see from industry regarding MOSA. Edited excerpts follow.

Six years have passed since the tri-service memo was issued by the Air Force, Army, and Navy leadership mandating the use of a modular open systems approach (MOSA) in all new programs and technology refreshes. Many in the defense community were already embracing MOSA strategies and leveraging open standards, but having the three services mandate it promised faster adoption. Update: It’s happening. MOSA is already the law and now defense secretary Pete Hegseth is dictating a MOSA approach as part of his efforts to reform and speed up the defense acquisition process.

WASHINGTON – AUSA ANNUAL MEETING 2025. Electronic warfare (EW) modernization, software-defined radios (SDRs), and modular open systems approach (MOSA) strategies are all trends within U.S. Army technology development and procurement. During the AUSA Annual Meeting this month in Washington, I sat down with Clif Basnight, Vice President, Strategic Technologies, Ultra I&C, to discuss these trends. Edited excerpts of our conversation follow.

AUSA Annual Meeting & Expositon. Citing human factors feedback from operators, engineers at Silvus Technologies developed the StreamCaster NEXUS system, a light-weight, chest-mounted tactical networking solution for enhanced mobility and connectivity for dismounted toops. The systems was demosntrated at the Silvus booth, #3645,, this week at the AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington. 

DSEI UK 2025, LONDON. BAE Systems and Thales officials kicked off a new collaboration today at DSEI in London to deliver next-generation submarine sonar capability, when they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

LONDON -- DSEI UK 2025. The MCM100 electronically controlled, closed-circuit, mixed-gas military rebreather with new diver-control attachment featured at Avon Protection Booth N3-310 at DSEI UK 2025 in London this week.

LONDON – DSEI UK 2025. Effective combat-vehicle technology today is being driven by demand for networked sensors and distributed computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and open architecture, Bill Guyan, SVP, Business Development & President, International, Leonardo DRS, told me this morning at DSEI UK 2025. We also talked about how defense procurement for European nations differs from that of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Guyan also shared the biggest technological innovation he’s seen since his time as a U.S. Army tank commander. Edited excerpts follow.

LONDON -- DSEI UK 2025. Achieving dominance in the spectrum domain is getting more complex as adversarial threats continue to improve their jamming techniques. Innovative RF and microwave solutions are needed to win at the edge in the EMS domain. This week, I sat down with Tim Fountain, Head of Aerospace & Defense Test Market Segment, Rohde & Schwarz, at his booth (S8-240) at DSEI UK 2025 in London.