Seven Trends Powering Defense Modernization
The pace of defense modernization continues to accelerate, driven by the need to outmatch rising threats in contested, congested environments. To keep pace with rapid innovation and budget constraints, aerospace and defense programs increasingly leverage commercial technologies like fifth-generation cellular (5G), artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-based simulation, and modular open architectures. Increased flexibility and performance solve key challenges across electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO), ranging from electronic warfare (EW) to radar and secure communications. Security also is a rising concern, particularly for satellite communications. In each of these domains, key trends are changing how the aerospace and defense industry operates to support modernization and empower mission superiority.
What Role Do Startups Play in Defense Modernization?
A growing number of new companies are entering all domains of the defense industry, which historically comprised large primes and subcontractors. These startups are emerging to rapidly integrate and optimize developments like AI, space technology, cybersecurity, and advanced materials. “Unlike traditional defense contractors, these nimble companies often spin out of academic research, veteran-led teams, or entrepreneurial ecosystems,” says Dave Savage, Keysight Director of Emerging Technologies.
He continues, “These startups benefit from venture capital funding, government accelerator programs, and new procurement pathways designed to lower barriers to entry of defense markets for nontraditional suppliers. This shift not only accelerates technological advancement, but also challenges long-standing defense acquisition practices, pushing for faster iteration cycles and more collaborative public-private partnerships that can better respond to rapidly evolving global threats.” These startups, together with primes and subcontractors, are quickly innovating to solve challenges across technology domains from sea through space.
How Can the Defense Industry Safeguard the EM Spectrum?
Security threats in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum continue to rise. Military, defense, and government communications are all facing a rapid increase in spectrum competition. According to Raymond Shen, Keysight Director of Security and Defense Communications, “As modern forces rely heavily on GPS, satellite links, and tactical radio networks, adversaries have turned to sophisticated jamming and spoofing techniques to disrupt these systems. Countries with advanced electronic warfare capabilities are increasingly using targeted jamming to blind surveillance assets, degrade command-and-control channels, or mislead navigation systems. This has transformed the EM spectrum into a contested battlespace, prompting militaries to invest in resilient waveforms, anti-jamming technologies, and spectrum-aware autonomous systems.”
It is not only threats that may disrupt communications, however. Shen says, “Unintentional interference, which is often a byproduct of the proliferation of commercial wireless devices, has become an emerging challenge for government and defense organizations. Civilian telecommunications infrastructure, dense urban RF environments, and the growth of satellite constellations can all create background noise or signal congestion that complicates secure communications. As a result, defense planners increasingly work alongside regulators and industry partners to coordinate spectrum usage, mitigate interference, and ensure that critical communication channels remain reliable during both routine operations and crises. This dual landscape of deliberate jamming and accidental disruption has made spectrum management and protection a top strategic priority worldwide.”
How Is EM Spectrum Crowding Driving Interoperability in EW?
In EW, increasingly interconnected, contested EMSO environments are making interoperability a strategic requirement. Chris Johnston, Keysight Director of EW Programs and Test Solutions, says, “Modern systems must operate across multiple platforms, domains, and national boundaries, often within coalition frameworks that demand shared situational awareness and coordinated responses. This has driven a clear industry shift toward open, modular architectures that allow threat models, mission data, and test results to be exchanged and reused across disparate systems and organizations.”
In response, EW programs are placing greater emphasis on flexibility over fixed functionality. Johnston states, “Rather than relying on closed, single-purpose test systems, organizations are investing in adaptable frameworks that can integrate legacy threat libraries while rapidly incorporating new waveforms, tactics, and operational concepts. Open architectures reduce integration uptime, support incremental upgrades, and help ensure that electronic warfare capabilities can evolve at the pace of the threat, rather than being constrained by the limitations of proprietary environments.”
Such interoperability is required, as highly collaborative, cross-domain and joint readiness are central to defense strategy. Johnson notes, “Allied forces must validate not only individual platform performance, but also collective effectiveness across shared EM environments. Open and interoperable EW test approaches enable harmonized training, common validation methodologies, and faster alignment between partners. As adversaries continue to adopt more agile and networked EM tactics, the ability to evolve, test, and respond together is becoming one of the most critical enablers of long-term spectrum dominance.”
How Can Military Radar Systems Combat Jamming and Spoofing?
The increasingly crowded spectrum also presents challenges for radar systems. “Modern radar systems are increasingly expected to autonomously adapt waveforms, optimize beamforming, and manage spectrum resources in real time in highly contested environments,” notes Jad Faraj, Keysight Director of Radar Test, Design & Evaluation. “This capability is critical as adversaries deploy more advanced jamming, spoofing, and decoy tactics.”
In more congested and contested environments, Faraj also notes a rising need to detect and track low-radar cross section (RCS), highly maneuverable threats. He notes, “Defense radar is undergoing a major architectural shift as programs accelerate the adoption of fully digital phased arrays. The move away from traditional analog beamforming is enabling orders-of-magnitude improvements in agility, instantaneous bandwidth, and simultaneous multi-mission operation.”
How Will Military Satellite Networks Overcome Spectrum Issues?
Satellite network operators also are grappling with spectrum issues. According to Phil Lorch, Keysight’s Director of Space and Satellite Programs and Test Solutions, “The deployment of terrestrial Frequency Range 3 (FR3) for 6G will at least partially overlap with some satellite downlinks in the Ku-band. Additionally, we are simply running out of spectrum in the traditional uplink and downlink bands at Ku-band. The industry will need to become a lot more diligent about making efficient and cost-effective use of this precious spectrum. Satellites also will have to move higher in frequency, especially for feeder links up to E- and D-bands and beyond. Use of more precise dynamic positioning or steering of RF energy to where connectivity and capacity is required will also become prevalent and phased array or electronically scanned array (ESA) technology will eclipse the use of traditional parabolic dishes.”
What Threats Does Cybersecurity Pose for Satellites?
Cybersecurity presents major threats to satellite defense systems as well as commercial ones. Lorch states, “Recently, notable public examples of commercial satellite networks being compromised via exposed ground terminals and user equipment were reported in central Europe. There, ViaSat and Starlink networks became targets of hackers with some success. Non-terrestrial network (NTN) narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) networks are particularly of concern for security weaknesses. These networks are primarily used for machine-to-machine communication in the energy industry as well as national security applications requiring low-rate but mission-critical communications for a large number of devices. Some of these assets still use open text-based messaging with little or no encryption, which is highly vulnerable to being compromised.”
How Does Test Support Fast, Flexible Defense Modernization?
Modern design, emulation, and test innovations ensure mission readiness across all domains. System developers can leverage solutions across the full mission lifecycle, uniting simulation, emulation, and measurement across the radar, EW, spectrum management, communications, and space domains. By integrating hardware, software, and digital twin technologies, you can bridge the gap between concept and combat readiness. From design and validation to deployment and sustainment, Keysight provides the measurement science and test systems needed to accelerate innovation, reduce risk, and ensure operational confidence in the most demanding environments. Test with realism, analyze with precision, and perform with assurance to defend and protect your personnel and your assets.
Find out more about Keysight solutions supporting aerospace defense modernization here.
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