Honeywell Aerospace and Enigma Aerospace have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore integrating advanced mission systems onto Enigma’s Phoenix Series Unmanned Aircraft System.
Phoenix is a runway-independent, autonomous logistics aircraft designed to operate in GPS-denied, communications-degraded, and other contested environments. Through the agreement, the companies will examine how Honeywell’s navigation, mission systems, and electronic warfare capabilities could support the platform in U.S. and allied missions.
The proposed areas of collaboration include resilient positioning, navigation, and timing, alternative navigation systems, and defensive electronic warfare. Honeywell and Enigma also intend to explore secure command, control, and communications, defensive cyber capabilities, and small form-factor mission systems and payloads for unmanned platforms.
As an initial step, the companies plan to evaluate Honeywell’s VersaWave SATCOM unit, Ground Control Station, and ONEBOX flight controller on the Phoenix aircraft. Additional Honeywell products will be explored as the collaboration progresses.
Matt Milas, President, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace, commented, “Autonomous systems operating in contested environments live or die by the quality of their navigation, communications and electronic warfare capabilities. Without the ability to survive and operate in these environments, you’re just throwing metal down range — and that’s precisely where Honeywell Aerospace has decades of proven performance, from the most demanding crewed missions flown today to the unmanned platforms defining tomorrow’s battlespace.”
“We’re proud to be a mission systems partner that helps Phoenix get to the warfighter faster. This collaboration reflects how we think about the autonomous systems market: find the right platforms, go deep, and build toward scale.”
Reese Mozer, Chief Executive Officer of Enigma Aerospace, added, “Operating in contested environments means assuming traditional navigation aids and communications will be denied, degraded, or disrupted, with a threat picture that can change by the minute. Honeywell Aerospace brings deep aerospace and defense experience across exactly the systems that enable autonomous logistics to survive at the edge. We’re looking forward to exploring how their navigation and mission systems capabilities could support Phoenix as we work toward fielding platforms for warfighters and, eventually, commercial logistics providers.”
Under the agreement, the companies intend to pursue joint development and integration activities in the months ahead, with the goal of bringing select capabilities into operational use for U.S. and allied defense customers in full compliance with applicable law.
