AFA show floor highlights autonomy, EW, and edge computing priorities
NewsSeptember 16, 2026
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland. Technology showcased at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference this week pointed to several recurring Air Force priorities: autonomous systems, electronic warfare, distributed operations, and more computing power pushed toward the tactical edge.
Shield AI’s X-BAT was one of the most visible examples of that shift. The company is developing the aircraft as an AI-piloted vertical takeoff and landing fighter intended for missions including counter-air, strike, suppression of enemy air defenses, EW, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Shield AI says the aircraft is designed to operate in GPS- and communications-denied environments and in teams controlled by its Hivemind autonomy software.
Electronic warfare was another major theme. Anduril displayed Pulsar-L, a compact, software-defined EW system that combines software-defined radio, onboard graphics processing, and machine learning for detection, tracking, and electronic attack. Mercury Systems, meanwhile, highlighted radar-simulation products intended to test aircraft susceptibility to jamming and spoofing and to train operators against representative EW threats.
Several exhibitors focused on the computing infrastructure needed to support those missions. Crystal Group’s RE4100 edge-computing system is designed for high-density processing in harsh environments, with configurations supporting Xeon processors, large amounts of memory, and multiple NVMe drives. Its RE2500 portable workstation takes a different approach, packaging rugged computing and removable storage into a transportable system for field data collection, ISR processing, and after-action review.
Curtiss-Wright’s DTS1 Nano reflected the same trend at a smaller scale. The rugged network-attached storage device combines removable storage, dual-layer data-at-rest encryption, and edge AI processing in a SWaP-constrained package aimed at uncrewed and other distributed platforms. A separate joint offering from Crystal Group, RackTop Systems, and RedData focused on protecting classified data at the tactical edge while allowing storage and processing to continue during disconnected or degraded network conditions.
Aitech’s offerings underscored another recurring theme: adding capability without replacing entire legacy architectures. Its C165 6U VME single-board computer uses an 11th-generation Intel Core i7 processor while retaining the established VME form factor, giving programs a path to increase processing, storage, and cybersecurity capability in fielded systems. The company also promoted embedded computing, edge AI, networking, and integrated mission systems aimed at aerospace and defense platforms.
Taken together, the products on the AFA show floor suggest that modernization is increasingly less about a single new platform and more about the supporting technology stack around it. Autonomy, EW, secure storage, rugged edge computing, and legacy-system upgrades all point toward an Air Force preparing to operate with more distributed systems, less reliable connectivity, and greater demand for onboard processing close to the mission.
