A leading U.S. naval defense contractor was developing a next-generation Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) designed to perform critical reconnaissance and surveillance missions without putting personnel at risk. Operating in contested environments, this autonomous platform needed to collect, store, and securely transport sensitive mission data while ensuring uncompromised security—even in the event of loss or capture.
The Challenge
As the program advanced, the shipbuilder faced a challenging operational problem: securely managing classified data at every stage of a USV’s mission lifecycle. The USV needed to store Top Secret mission plans, record sensor data during operations, and distribute critical information over a 1 GbE network. After each mission, the data had to be safely transported back to base—all while protecting against cyber threats and potential adversary capture.
The system had to use National Security Agency (NSA)-approved encryption to meet national security requirements. Additionally, the team faced a tight development schedule and required a commercially available, field-proven solution to avoid delays and minimize program risk.
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