Leonardo DRS space radio completes first secure on orbit data transport test

by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRS) has completed the first on-orbit test of its multi-channel software-defined radio (SDR) with integrated advanced cryptography, demonstrating secure satellite data transport for U.S. military users at the tactical edge.

The eXtended Crypto Module3-Space (XCM3-Space) adapts the company's next-generation crypto and multi-channel SDR architecture for use in space, targeting cyber and electronic warfare threats to military satellite links.

Drawing on its experience in multi-domain secure tactical communications, Leonardo DRS built XCM3-Space to support high-performance secure satellite communications across multiple frequencies and networks at the same time.

The Department of War has urged its industrial base to invest and move quickly, and Leonardo DRS increased internal research and development spending to bring this space-qualified SDR from design through build, test and launch in less than twelve months.

The company positions space-based data transport in low Earth orbit as dependent on edge computing and processing, with XCM3-Space intended to support space-based detection and interception of ballistic and hypersonic missile threats that require onboard encryption and decryption of data.

"Secure, flexible satellite data transport is the backbone of modern military operations," said Larry Ezell, senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS Airborne and Intelligence Systems. "Our investments in next-generation low Earth orbit SDR provides a decisive leap forward, overcoming the limitations of legacy systems that are rigid and difficult to update once deployed. With crypto-enabled, fully reprogrammable architecture, this SDR is designed to support current and future secure transport needs for the U.S. Space Force, Space Development Agency, the Missile Defense Agency's Golden Dome priorities, and other critical all-domain missions."

Launched in late November on a Proteus Mercury satellite, the XCM3-Space payload operated in low Earth orbit and met all primary test objectives for secure data transport and space-based operation.

Leonardo DRS plans to launch a second XCM3-Space system in 2026 to extend demonstrations of edge processing and additional waveform capabilities in orbit.

The company states that its work on XCM3-Space is part of a broader effort to bring commercial technologies and open-architecture approaches to tactical-edge space systems, including AI-enabled and open-architecture edge computing intended for future space missions.