During my 30 years in this industry, I’ve yet to meet anyone who thinks the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) moves too fast when it comes to technology acquisition. Never happened, never will. At the same time, real acquisition reform that speeds up technology adoption for the warfighter in a lasting way has been rare.

Information is crucial to every function of every modern military. Knowing more and being able to act on that knowledge faster than your enemy is a real advantage. This truism is why military commanders are concerned with getting their hands on as much usable data as possible. Much of this data, in the modern world, is gathered by satellites. In Ukraine, commercial satellite imagery is now being sent directly to commanders to shorten the distance between sensor and shooter. In other words, the time it takes for data to be gathered, processed, distributed, and used, has been compressed.

Defense organizations are operating in an environment defined by rapid technological change, evolving threats, and growing demands for interoperability. As military leaders invest in modernization across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains, operations are increasingly shifting from hardware-defined systems to software-driven, data-centric environments.

Procurement modernization represents a major structural shift in how the U.S. federal government buys technology products for the armed forces and responds to global tensions and threats. The July 2025 Executive Order on Modernizing Defense Acquisitions (Executive Order 14265) and sweeping U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) reforms enable purchasing for the military to be more responsive to new technologies and threats.

Modern Special Operations Forces (SOF) and Indo-Pacific military operations are shaped by an accelerating cycle of technological change and globally sourced innovation.

As the global military threat landscape evolves, the missile threats to the U.S. have shifted as well:  Hypersonic glide vehicles maneuver unpredictably at extreme speeds, cruise missiles fly below radar horizons, and adversaries bombard air and missile defense networks. These opponent systems compress warning timelines and seek to exploit legacy defense architectures.

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. 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).

Each issue, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different organization that benefits the military, veterans, and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day.

Modern military operations demand adaptable, interoperable, and resilient communications systems that keep pace with evolving mission requirements and technological advancements.

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.

Each issue, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different organization that benefits the military, veterans, and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day.

Only recently, Iran jammed satellite internet signals to restrict access inside its own borders, while Russia has constantly interfered with satellite broadcasts that support Ukraine – these are just some of the more visible demonstrations of the fact that space systems can be disrupted and that they are considered targets in modern conflict.

In the early days of avionics, software operated in silos, or isolated computing environments with little to no outside connectivity. Today, modern airborne systems are increasingly linked to maintenance systems, passenger networks, and cloud-based analytics.

Russia's use of low-cost Shahed and Geran drones in Ukraine has exposed a gap in Western defense. NATO and allied forces have no efficient counter to cheap, high-volume aerial threats. Each swarm attack forces defenders to use interceptors that cost hundreds of times more than the incoming drones. Stockpiles deplete and production cannot keep up. Current propulsion systems are either too expensive, too slow to manufacture, or lack the performance to complete the mission. The solution requires propulsion systems that deliver performance and reliability at a price point and production scale that matches the threat. Turbojet engines with start times less than 20 seconds, speeds as fast as 0.9 Mach, and proven manufacturability enable a path forward.