Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TOES20260624011
- Term of Validity
- 26 June 2026 - 26 June 2027
- Company's Country
- Spain
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Targeted Countries
- Germany
- Poland
- Sweden
- France
- Netherlands
- United Kingdom
- Belgium
- Finland
- Norway
- Italy
General information
- Short Summary
- Spanish startup specialised in integrated photonics for optical wireless communications. It develops low size, weight and power secure communication terminals based on photonic integration for high-capacity data links in electronic warfare environments. Main advantages include miniaturisation, low power consumption and resistance to jamming versus radio-frequency systems. Cooperation sought for testing, validation and pilot deployments with international defence, research and UAV partners.
- Full Description
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Modern military and security operations increasingly rely on the rapid exchange of large amounts of data between platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), intelligence sensors, command centres, and tactical units. Traditional radio-frequency (RF) communications are becoming more vulnerable to electronic warfare techniques such as jamming, interception, and spectrum congestion. In addition, many existing communication systems are too large, heavy, power-hungry, or expensive to be easily integrated into small and autonomous platforms.
There is therefore a growing need for communication technologies that can provide secure, high-capacity, and resilient data links while maintaining low Size, Weight, Power and Cost (SWaP-C), particularly in contested and electronically challenged environments.
Current wireless communication solutions are mainly based on RF technologies, which offer long-range connectivity but can be detected, intercepted, or disrupted by adversaries. Optical wireless communications provide a promising alternative because they use light rather than radio waves, enabling higher data rates, lower probability of detection, and greater resistance to electronic warfare.
However, most existing optical communication terminals rely on discrete optical components, making them relatively bulky, expensive, and difficult to deploy on small platforms such as UAVs. While integrated photonics has emerged as a promising technology to miniaturize optical systems, many current solutions remain at an early stage of development or are not yet optimized for defence and tactical applications where low SWaP, robustness, and affordability are critical.
The company is a spanish startup founded in 2023 specialized in integrated photonics for low SWAP optical wireless communications (currently TRL 4), covering use cases such as resilient UAV communication, ISR to C2 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to command and control (C2) communications, and tactical links on the battlefield under electronic warfare. By integrating multiple optical functions onto a compact photonic chip, the technology reduces the size, weight, power consumption, and complexity of optical communication terminals.
Key features include:
• Compact and lightweight architecture enabled by photonic integration.
• Low power consumption suitable for autonomous and battery-powered platforms.
• High-speed optical data transmission.
• Increased resilience against jamming and interception compared with conventional RF communications.
• Potential for lower production costs through scalable semiconductor manufacturing processes.
• Compatibility with deployment in challenging electronic warfare environments.
The company seeks international cooperation to accelerate the maturation, validation, and market adoption of its technology. International partnerships would provide access to complementary expertise, operational requirements, testing environments, and potential end users that are not readily available within a single national ecosystem.
The desired outcome is to jointly advance the technology towards higher TRLs, validate performance in realistic operational scenarios, and develop tailored solutions that meet the needs of defence and security stakeholders in different countries.
International cooperation is envisaged through collaborative activities such as technology integration projects, joint demonstrations, pilot deployments, field trials, and co-development of next-generation optical communication systems.
Partners may include defence companies, system integrators, research organisations, UAV manufacturers, and end-user agencies interested in secure and resilient communication capabilities. Such collaboration would enable the company to strengthen its technological offering, expand access to international markets, and accelerate the transition from prototype development to operational deployment. - Advantages and Innovations
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Defence and security operations depend on the exchange of large volumes of critical data between mobile platforms operating in contested electromagnetic environments. Conventional radio-frequency (RF) communications are vulnerable to jamming, interception, and electronic warfare measures, while existing optical wireless communication systems are often too large, heavy and power-intensive for deployment on small UAVs and other size-constrained platforms.
The company addresses this challenge through integrated photonics-based optical wireless communication technology designed for low-SWaP tactical applications. By integrating multiple optical communication functions onto a photonic integrated circuit (PIC), the company reduces the size, weight, power consumption and complexity of optical communication terminals while maintaining the advantages of highly directional optical links, including low probability of intercept and detection (LPI/LPD) and resilience against electronic warfare threats.
Unlike many integrated photonics developments focused on telecommunications data centres or fibre-optic networks, the company specifically targets optical wireless communications for mobile and tactical platforms. This requires addressing challenges such as outdoor operation, platform mobility, pointing and tracking constraints, environmental robustness, and deployment under electronic warfare conditions.
A further differentiator is the focus on enabling affordable and scalable optical communication terminals. The technology has the potential to achieve lower production costs and greater scalability than traditional optical systems.
The combination of photonic integration, low-SWaP architecture, resilience against electronic warfare threats, and optimisation for UAV and tactical communication applications positions the company in a niche that is underserved by both conventional RF communication providers and integrated photonics companies. - Stage of Development
- Lab tested
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Goal 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
- IPR status
- IPR granted
- IPR notes
- Europe and China
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
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The company is seeking defence companies, aerospace manufacturers, system integrators, UAV developers, tactical communication providers, electronic warfare specialists and research organisations with complementary capabilities to accelerate the development, validation and deployment of integrated photonic optical wireless communication systems.
For research and development cooperation, partners are expected to contribute expertise in free-space optical communications, photonic integrated circuits, beam steering and tracking systems, optical packaging, secure communications, defence electronics or electronic warfare resilience. Cooperation may include joint development activities, subsystem integration, laboratory validation, environmental qualification and field testing aimed at increasing the technology readiness level.
For pilot projects and demonstrations, the company seeks organisations with access to representative operational environments, including UAV platforms, ISR systems and tactical communication networks. Partners would support system integration, operational assessment and performance validation under realistic deployment conditions.
For commercial cooperation with technical assistance, the company is particularly interested in defence system integrators, defence communication OEMs, aerospace companies and prime contractors seeking low-SWaP, secure and resilient communication solutions for UAVs, ISR platforms and tactical networks. The partner's role would be to integrate the technology into broader communication, surveillance or command-and-control systems and facilitate access to end users and procurement programmes.
Particularly valuable partners include organisations active in tactical communications, autonomous systems, defence electronics, critical infrastructure protection and secure communication networks operating in contested electromagnetic environments. - Type and Size of Partner
- SME 50 - 249
- R&D Institution
- Big company
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 01002008 - Optical Networks and Systems
- 02011001 - Aeronautical technology / Avionics
- 01006005 - Network Technology, Network Security
- 01002004 - Embedded Systems and Real Time Systems
- Market keywords
- 01006001 - Defence communications
- 03004003 - Other electronics related equipment
- Sector Groups Involved
- Electronics
- Aerospace and Defence
- Targeted countries
- Germany
- Poland
- Sweden
- France
- Netherlands
- United Kingdom
- Belgium
- Finland
- Norway
- Italy