News

SAN FRANCISCO - Planet Labs, a provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced two significant contract milestones with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) that deepen the company’s role in supporting global security. Planet’s subsidiary, Planet Labs Federal, Inc., has been awarded an Option Year 1 extension for its Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and a new contract for Global Monitoring Service (GMS) to support ongoing crisis response efforts.

The NGA has exercised the first option year under the Luno B Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for Advanced Analytics for Maritime Operations and Reconnaissance (AAMOR). Following a successful inaugural program, this one-year, $22 million extension helps ensure the NGA’s continued access to AI-enabled Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) solutions across multiple Combatant Commands.

Planet will continue to provide the automated detection of strategic and tactical maritime events, including ship-to-ship transfers and “dark” fleet activity. Exercising this option supports NGA’s foundational mission of providing high-quality, unclassified commercial data and analytics to partners and allies.

Source: Planet
Associated URL: https://www.planet.com/

TALLINN, Estonia - Estonian defense technology company Vegvisir will unveil two major product developments at Eurosatory 2026. The company is launching a Communications Module that enables military platforms to automatically switch between available communication networks to maintain connectivity in contested environments. It is also expanding its situational awareness and command platform beyond land operations to support air, maritime and underwater systems.

Vegvisir’s Communications Module automatically manages and prioritizes multiple communication channels, including 5G, 4G, Starlink, MANET MESH radios and even fiber optical solutions. If a preferred network becomes unavailable, the system seamlessly switches to alternative connections without operator intervention, helping maintain communications in contested and degraded environments.

The system uses dual modems with failover capability to other LAN and WAN links running all in parallel, including fiber optics. The system also features integrated omnidirectional antennas requiring no external installation, rugged IP68-rated protection for harsh environments, and compatibility with fiber-optic communications for electronic warfare-resistant, RF-silent operations.

Source: Vegvisir
Associated URL: https://www.vegvisir.ee/

PARIS -- Helsing unveiled Area 9, its research division, alongside the launch of the RX-1 - a robotics research platform designed and manufactured in Europe.

Area 9 is designed to translate frontier research into operational capabilities. Its debut project, Centaur, developed an AI pilot for air combat. Helsing notes that Centaur has already been deployed on the Saab Gripen, and Centaur now underpins the CA-1 Europa, Helsing’s upcoming autonomous fighter jet.

The company notes that Area-9 will be put to robotics next.

RX-1 is designed and manufactured by Helsing in Europe. Helsing will make RX-1 available to academic institutions and robotics laboratories across the continent.

Helsing also announced its first two academic partnerships: the robotics group led by Marco Hutter at ETH Zurich, and INRIA Paris. Both will deploy RX-1 to accelerate research at the intersection of AI and autonomous systems.

Source: Helsing
Associated URL: https://helsing.ai/newsroom/helsing-unveils-area-9-and-launches-rx-1-its-first-european-robotics-research-platform