Tesseract Ventures has been selected by the Defense Innovation Unit to advance in the Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System prototype project. The initiative aims to develop autonomous capabilities for deploying and managing unmanned aerial systems in contested environments. The project addresses the challenge of transitioning from single-operator aircraft models to scalable autonomous systems requiring minimal human intervention. Tesseract will demonstrate its modular platform for deploying, launching, recovering and managing multiple drones from containerised systems. The solution uses open systems architecture and advanced autonomy software to increase operational flexibility whilst reducing operator workload. The project requires systems capable of transporting, storing and managing diverse autonomous aircraft across land and maritime environments with minimal personnel. Successful prototypes may become eligible for follow-on production opportunities without further competition under the Commercial Solutions Opening process.

EdgeCortix, a Japanese fabless semiconductor company, has demonstrated its SAKURA-II edge AI platform with the US Air Force and received a Success Memorandum from the Defense Innovation Unit recognising successful prototype validation. The platform delivered high-performance, low-power AI inference capabilities during aerial operations and large force exercises. The project included AI benchmarking with Carnegie Mellon University, NASA radiation resilience testing for space applications, and flight testing of an Advanced Intelligent Gateway System. NASA testing validated high radiation resiliency, supporting deployment from low Earth orbit through cislunar environments. The Tokyo-based company's SAKURA-II platform uses its Dynamic Neural Accelerator architecture for runtime-reconfigurable AI acceleration across defence, aerospace, robotics and manufacturing sectors. The demonstration increased the technology's readiness level for airborne deployments.

Altera is collaborating with the Defense Innovation Unit on the RAZORBAC programme to develop a highly reconfigurable FPGA-based coherent optical communications modem prototype. The initiative aims to advance resilient, secure, high-speed networking for space and multi-domain operations. The company will contribute Agilex FPGA-based technologies to create a Multi-Chip Package prototype capable of performing coherent Free Space Optics modem functions. The system is designed to support interoperable optical links across satellite constellations, enabling high-speed data transport for defence and commercial applications. The RAZORBAC effort supports US Space Force initiatives to accelerate laser communications technologies capable of delivering high-data-rate connectivity in contested environments. Altera's programmable solutions allow systems to evolve in real time without requiring complete hardware redesigns.