Military Embedded Systems

PARIS--EUROSATORY 2026. The threat from uncrewed aerial vehicles (UASs) is getting more complex and difficult to counter, as the conflict in Ukraine continues to show. That threat is also behind the insatiable demand for counter-UAS solutions at Eurosatory (Paris) this week, Bill Guyan, SVP, Business Development & President, International, Leonardo DRS, told me during a chat on Wednesday. We also talked about radar designed for aerial drone detection, European adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), and what must happen for AI to become a combat advantage for the U.S. on the battlefield. Edited excerpts follow.

VPX-based solutions have been deployed in signal-processing-intensive military applications like radar and electronic warfare (EW) for more than a decade, but the adoption of the VITA standard has been slow in Europe. Meanwhile, the more recently ratified small-form-factor VNX standard is already getting interest from European military system designers.

EUROSATORY: Paris, France. Robin Radar Systems introduced IRIS OTM at Sea, an expansion of its IRIS On-The-Move (OTM) capability that brings rapid counter-drone detection to ports, vessels, harbors, and critical maritime infrastructure to counter the growing threat from fixed-wing Shahed drones and low-flying unmanned systems.

EUROSATORY: Paris, France. Engineers at Galvion are evolving the company’s Cortex architecture and showcased a new HALO configuration for its Cortex EVO system at Eurosatory 2026 this week.

EUROSATORY: Paris. France. Avon Protection launched a new short duration (SD) breathing apparatus option of their Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) for integration with a Combination Respirator Unit (CRU) at Eurosatory this week.

EUROSATORY: Paris, France. Robots go first is the motto of the co-founders of Shifters, which designs ground robots that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to work as a unit.  

EUROSATORY: Paris, France. Engineers at Silvus demonstrated how their StreamCaster SL5200 OEM module meets low, size, weight, and power requirements for small uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) platforms.

While there is not a huge program of record or one nation’s war department mandating adoption of a modular open systems approach (MOSA) in Europe, systems integrators are building with modularity in mind and acquiring technology based on open standards like the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard. I discussed this trend with MOSA proponents during Eurosatory in Paris, France, this week.

EUROSATORY: Paris, France.  Exail launched the company’s Advans Vega SL, a high-precision inertial navigation system (INS) that maintains navigation continuity across amphibious operations.

EUROSATORY: Paris, France. BAE Systems’ Digital Intelligence business chose MARSS to provide the command and control (C2) solution for the BAE Systems’ Anti Threat System (BATS) counter-UAS (CUAS) system. The agreement was confirmed live at Eurosatory, on day two of the show.

EUROSATORY: Paris, France. DroneShield leaders announced that its first European-produced counter‑unmanned aerial system (C‑UAS) is now off the production line, with the same design as DroneShield’s Australian-built systems.

EUROSATORY: Paris, France. When you’ve been to hundreds of trade shows booth displays can often look the same after a while; the folks at TE Connectivity this week got creative with how they show where their different products would be found in an uncrewed aerial system (UAS).

The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) narrowband military satellite-communications system provides warfighters with secure, high-quality voice and data communications. Although it has been successfully deployed for decades, MUOS technology is still not pervasive. During a podcast with Jason Ferguson, president of W5 Technologies, we discussed the history of MUOS, how it fits into the defense industry today, and the efforts to sustain it. For the full interview and Ferguson’s in-depth knowledge of MUOS and W5’s MUOS solutions watch the whole episode here: https://tinyurl.com/5aurv7dn. Edited excerpts follow.

EURSATORY: Paris, France. The Hellcat aerial drone, built with lessons learned from Ukrainian warriors and engineers, was launched today by Red Cat Holdings at Eurosatory in Paris, France this week. Hellcat, a dual-use, small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) built on Red Cat’s Black Widow platform is designed for rapidly evolving operational environments.

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.