Forterra

FORTIFYING THE FUTURE FRONTIERS OF DEFENSE

FORTIFYING THE FUTURE FRONTIERS OF DEFENSE We dive into Forterra’s innovative spirit with insights from its executive team, exploring how the company’s mission-driven ethos is transforming the battlefield into a realm where technology meets tenacity Writer: Rachel Carr | Project Manager: Jakub Tyl

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n a world where the dynamics of warfare are ever-evolving, Forterra stands at the cutting edge, redefining what it means to be a leader in autonomous defense solutions.

Headquartered in Clarksburg, Maryland, with additional offices in Arlington County, Virginia; Winter Park, Florida; Ketchum, Idaho; and Palo Alto, California, the company boasts over 500 employees who are pushing the boundaries of defense technology.

The future of mission autonomy is not just a vision for Forterra, it’s a reality, providing advanced modular 2 | North America Outlook Issue 35

solutions designed for independent operation or seamless integration.

This enables multiple vehicles to operate autonomously, with the ability to allow an operator to intervene, if necessary, to ensure resilience and mission intent in challenging environments.

“From self-driving land systems to robotic swarms, we create scalable, robust hardware and software platforms that enable our customers to utilize autonomy effectively, enhancing reach, survivability, and mission success,” proudly introduces Josh Araujo, CEO.

“Our mission is warfighterfocused; we develop technology that minimizes risks for those who serve. With a high concentration of veterans on our team, we understand the challenges and gaps faced in combat.”

Forterra specializes in key technologies, differentiating its products through unique platforms and systems that set it apart in the market. These comprise modules for compute, data, communications, mobility, and sensing, enhancing defense capabilities while prioritizing warfighter safety on the battlefield.

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“We focus on creating autonomous systems that function in real-world, offroad environments. For example, our core platform, AutoDrive, is designed to operate in unpredictable conditions without relying on perfect maps, adapting in real time to rough terrain, dynamic obstacles, and degraded GPS environments,” he details.

“Moreover, Vektor is an edgedeployed, software-defined communication and smart databrokering layer designed for operations in disrupted, degraded, intermittent, and low-bandwidth environments. It enables real-time

data flow and situational awareness across autonomous, manned, and hybrid vehicles, even when disconnected or GPS-denied.”

However, unlike conventional systems that require constant, high-quality network access, Vektor maintains data and command flows without it.

“To enhance resilience, we acquired the mobile mesh networking company goTenna in 2025. All these solutions operate concurrently on Fabric, our integration layer that allows communication with thirdparty software and hardware,”

explains Araujo.

This is significant because Fabric offers an open software architecture for plug-and-play interoperability across vendors and platforms, ensuring seamless interoperability among autonomous systems, payloads, and command and control (C2) infrastructure.

INNOVATING AT AN INTERSECTION Although each Forterra product has unique features, the company’s main differentiator is its proven and actively deployed solutions.

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“Many companies remain in R&D or prototyping, but in the national security sector, real-world deployment with the US Department of War (DoW) is where impact is made,” Araujo outlines.

“Forterra has been the DoW’s leading autonomy provider across numerous ground programs, with our products in active use in combat zones worldwide. In this field, it’s clear: you’re either proven and deployed or you’re not.”

The company’s approach to R&D involves pairing two perspectives: deep technical expertise and direct operational experience; bringing together engineers who understand what is technically possible with former operators who understand the demands of missions in the field.

“The intersection of engineers and operators is where true innovation occurs. Focusing solely on technology may lead to capabilities in search of a problem, while concentrating only on the mission risks means missing new solutions to longstanding challenges,” Scott Philips, Chief Innovation Officer, imparts.

Forterra’s R&D philosophy focuses on aligning mission needs with technical maturity to provide robust, deployable capabilities relevant to modern conflict.

One area where that approach is especially visible is the company’s work with the electromagnetic spectrum.

“In modern conflict, the spectrum is both a vulnerability and an opportunity. We are enhancing our autonomous infrastructure, sensors, compute, and radios to optimize communications and increase awareness of adversary activity.

“By developing techniques to map the radio frequency (RF) environment dynamically, we can reposition assets to create the optimal geometry needed to support mission objectives,” Philips states.

Additionally, Forterra’s innovation strategy centers on technologies 4 | North America Outlook Issue 35

that enhance edge autonomy and resilience in denied environments, improving operators’ awareness and control during critical situations.

By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software, the company boosts operational efficiency, allowing small teams to process data

beyond human limits, leading to quicker, more informed decisions and greater force multiplication.

Combining technical expertise with operational experience means Forterra’s mature technologies offer real advantages in the contested environments of modern conflict.

need to address honestly and directly.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY EVOLVING, AND HOW WILL FORTERRA POSITION ITSELF TO ADAPT TO THESE CHANGES? Scott Sanders, Chief Growth Officer: “The near-term trajectory of the battlefield is best understood as humanmachine teaming rather than autonomous systems operating independently.

“The practical value of autonomy in the immediate term is force multiplication, giving individual operators and small units access to autonomous mobility, persistent sensing, fires, and communications reach that would previously have required far greater manpower.

“The goal is to extend the effective capability of the warfighter, not to replace it.

“Looking further ahead, the question of how much decisionmaking authority will ultimately reside with autonomous systems is one that the industry and the government will

“The competitive environment, particularly with respect to nearpeer adversaries, cannot afford the luxury of deferring those conversations indefinitely.

“Forterra’s response to that uncertainty is architectural. By building an open, modular, and interoperable platform rather than a closed point solution, the company is not committing to a single vision of how autonomous operations will evolve.

“Rather, it is building foundational infrastructure that remains relevant across a range of futures and can absorb new capabilities as the operational and policy landscape evolves.”

“ I T ’ S C R U C I A L F O R D E F E N S E T E C H N O LO GY TO P R O V I D E E M E R G I N G SYST E M S F O R L A R G E S C A L E , LO N G -T E R M U S E , R AT H E R T H A N J U ST P I LOT P R O G R A M S , TO VA L I D AT E T H E N E W O P E R AT I N G M OD E L S W I T H A U TO N O M O U S SY ST E M S ” – SCOTT SANDERS, CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER, FORTERRA

“We focus on maintaining resilient C2 infrastructure in the electromagnetic spectrum, optimizing communications and adversary awareness. Our innovation agenda emphasizes autonomy, resilience in denied environments, and enhanced operator adaptability in critical situations,” urges Philips.

COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES The most significant challenge facing the industry is not technological but structural.

“There is often a persistent institutional tendency to pursue the most technically sophisticated solution rather than the most

deployable one,” voices Scott Sanders, Chief Growth Officer.

In general, the defense sector is now more willing to expedite the prototyping of new technologies. The DoW has vigorously worked to secure initial access to the Pentagon and has invested significantly in emerging companies.

“The journey to secure scalable production contracts often highlights successful prototypes that struggle to transition to practical use. A significant increase in efforts is needed to facilitate this process and deploy new technologies en masse.

“It’s crucial for defense technology to provide emerging systems for

large-scale, long-term use, rather than just pilot programs, to validate the new operating models with autonomous systems,” Sanders discusses.

Forterra’s partnership strategy emphasizes an open, interoperable platform that incorporates top-tier capabilities rather than developing everything internally, and collaborations with Aeva and Nominal exemplify this approach.

As such, Forterra has integrated 4D light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology into the AutoDrive platform with Aeva, allowing for simultaneous detection of velocity and position.

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“ B U I L D I N G SYST E M S T H AT M E E T C E R TA I N STA N D A R D S AT P R OD U C T I O N SCALE FOR THE US M I L I TA R Y I S A N EXTRAORDINARY ENGINEERING CHALLENGE, AND FORTERRA HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR 20 YEARS” – SCOTT PHILIPS, CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER, FORTERRA

This capability ensures highresolution awareness in challenging conditions, which is essential for autonomous vehicles operating in GPS-denied environments.

Equally important is the partnership with Nominal, which addresses the need for robust testing and validation as Forterra scales production for US Army and Marine Corps programs.

“Nominal offers a unified data platform that supports consistent regression testing and fleet analytics, ensuring anomalies are swiftly identified and resolved, thereby 6 | North America Outlook Issue 35

CAN YOU PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC MISSIONS OR TASKS WHERE FORTERRA’S SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED? Scott Philips, Chief Innovation Officer: “Our systems have been applied across various mission sets, enhancing safety for personnel, extending operational reach, and improving the tempo in challenging environments.

“A prime example is autonomous logistics, where unmanned ground systems transport personnel and equipment through risky areas without exposing additional warfighters to danger. This remains a key focus for the defense community.

“Engineering support, especially for tasks such as breaching and route clearance, is another critical area. Autonomous systems expedite mission execution while minimizing soldier exposure to hazardous situations, altering the risk dynamics of these missions.

“Forterra’s technologies are also vital for distributed operations that require resilient communications and reliable C2 infrastructure in GPS-denied environments. Success relies on systems operating effectively in conditions where typical connectivity doesn’t apply.

“These are not just theoretical applications; our systems have advanced beyond controlled settings and are now actively utilized in real defense programs and combat situations.

“The true value of autonomous systems lies in their effectiveness in contested, uncertain circumstances.”

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aiding program timelines and delivery confidence,” acknowledges Sanders.

These partnerships aim to ensure every layer of the stack meets the standards for autonomous systems in demanding environments.

“We’ve also teamed up with both emerging technology companies and traditional defense primes like RTX and BAE Systems, believing that the warfighter needs both to succeed,” says Sanders.

SETTING STANDARDS AND NAVIGATING FRONTIERS The ethical framework for autonomous systems in defense begins with a principle that many in the industry stand by, there will always be a human in the loop.

These systems, however capable, are intended to enhance human decision-making rather than replace it.

“Autonomy improves information processing, lessens cognitive load, and safeguards personnel. Human accountability in the use of lethal force is essential. As autonomous systems evolve, human oversight must keep pace.

“The key question is whether these systems provide meaningful human authority at critical moments.

Transparent, auditable, and interruptible designs can ensure this,” Philips reinforces.

Furthermore, companies operating in this space have a broader obligation to engage this question seriously and early enough, rather than treating it as a compliance exercise.

“Technology is advancing faster than the policy frameworks designed to govern it, placing real responsibility on the developers and operators of these systems to help define what responsible use looks like,” he continues.

Developing and scaling groundbased autonomy is particularly challenging, especially in the battlefield domain. According to 8 | North America Outlook Issue 35

Philips, this complexity makes the work compelling.

“Building systems that meet certain standards at production scale for the US military is an extraordinary engineering challenge, and Forterra has been doing this for 20 years.”

Moreover, the company is continuing to invest heavily in the development of integrated combat systems.

“We’re focused on filling gaps and expanding our capabilities while developing new solutions based on demand,” Sanders points out.

WHAT WERE THE MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS FOR FORTERRA IN 2025, PARTICULARLY REGARDING CONTRACTS, PARTNERSHIPS, AND FUTURE INITIATIVES? Josh Araujo, CEO: “2025 was a massive year for Forterra in terms of validated operational demand. We secured the first ground-autonomy production contract awarded by the former Department of Defense, delivering ROGUE-Fires autonomous systems to the US Marine Corps.

“That milestone alone represents a meaningful inflection point for the industry, not just Forterra, as it demonstrates that autonomous ground systems have crossed from prototype and pilot into production and fielding.

“Beyond that, Forterra was awarded a $114 million prime contract to deploy autonomous breaching systems for the Army, advanced to Phase II of the Army’s Ground Expeditionary Autonomous Retrofit System (GEARS) program, and undertook a $4.8 million contract under the Army’s Unmanned Systems (UxS) program.

“On the partnership side, the company has built a growing ecosystem of strategic relationships that reinforce its interoperability positioning.

“Current partners include Volvo Defense, BAE Systems, CHAOS Industries, Oshkosh Defense, Raytheon, Aeva, and Nominal, spanning platform integration, sensing, communications, and mission systems.

“There is considerable activity planned for the future across both programs and partnerships.

“Given the nature of Forterra’s work with the US government, specific initiatives cannot be disclosed at this time, but the contracting momentum and partner ecosystem built over the past year provide a strong foundation for what comes next.”

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The Premier General Contractor for Commercial Interiors

“ O U R M I S S I O N I S W A R F I G H T E R - F O C U S E D ; W E D E V E LO P T E C H N O LO GY T H AT M I N I M I Z E S R I S K S F O R T H O S E W H O S E R V E . W I T H A H I G H C O N C E N T R AT I O N O F V E T E R A N S O N O U R T E A M , W E U N D E R STA N D T H E C H A L L E N G E S A N D G A P S FA C E D I N C O M B AT ” – JOSH ARAUJO, CEO, FORTERRA

“As Forterra has grown rapidly this past year, we’re committed to hiring the right people and forming partnerships to ensure our infrastructure supports our growth, which for us is about readiness, not just size.”

Meanwhile, the company’s number one priority remains being a strong and reliable partner to the DoW. “We will continue to show up consistently, fulfill our commitments,

and ensure the solutions we provide effectively address the real problems faced by warfighters in the field. You can’t ignore what’s happening on the global stage right now. There’s a lot of conflict, and that’s a sobering reality, but it also reinforces why this work matters.

“We hope to play a bigger role in protecting American soldiers wherever they’re deployed, ensuring they have the tools, connectivity, and support they need to return home safely. That’s what drives us; everything else follows from that,” Araujo inspiringly concludes.

In a rapidly changing world, Forterra isn’t just keeping pace. It is setting the standard for what’s possible in defense technology by actively shaping its future.

Tel: (240) 631-0008 info@forterra.com, press@forterra.com

www.forterra.com North America Outlook Issue 35 | 9

Tel: (240) 631-0008 info@forterra.com, press@forterra.com

www.forterra.com

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