Skyryse, developer of the universal flight operating system SkyOS™, has entered into a strategic partnership with defense and security contractor BAE Systems Australia to advance software-defined autonomous aviation technology.
The joint initiative combines SkyOS with BAE Systems Australia’s Vehicle Management System (VMS)-a core technology powering multiple autonomous land and air platforms. Under the agreement, both companies will explore integrating their respective platforms to address emerging government, commercial, and defense opportunities for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
Software-Defined Flight Control Architecture
SkyOS replaces legacy mechanical flight controls with a certifiable, software-defined architecture engineered to support fully piloted, optionally piloted, and fully autonomous operations on a single unified platform. As part of the collaboration, SkyOS will serve as the preferred flight operating system for joint technology projects with BAE Systems Australia.
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The alliance highlights an industry transition toward software-defined flight controls, where certifiable, adaptable software frameworks enable both retrofits for legacy aircraft and clean-sheet designs for next-generation autonomous platforms.
“As government, commercial, and defense sectors look to modernize existing fleets while accelerating the adoption of autonomous capabilities, software is becoming the defining technology in aviation,” said Mark Groden, founder and CEO of Skyryse. “SkyOS is uniquely positioned because it combines human-rated flight software with autonomous capabilities in a certifiable, software-defined platform. Together with BAE Systems Australia, we’re exploring how that foundation can enable the next generation of optionally piloted and autonomous aircraft, including future clean-sheet designs.”
“Partnering with Skyryse allows BAE Systems Australia to build on more than 40 years of experience developing sovereign autonomy technologies through our Vehicle Management System, while expanding opportunities in the rapidly evolving autonomous aircraft market,” said Andrew Gresham, Managing Director of Defence Delivery at BAE Systems Australia. “Together, Skyryse’s software-defined SkyOS and BAE Systems Australia’s Vehicle Management System bring complementary capabilities that can help deliver the next generation of optionally piloted and autonomous aircraft for government and commercial customers.”
Targeting Global Defense and Commercial Aviation Markets
By marrying Skyryse‘s human-rated flight operating system with BAE Systems Australia’s four decades of sovereign autonomous systems engineering, the partnership establishes an integrated technical baseline for next-generation flight architectures. Together, the companies plan to target global opportunities across defense modernization initiatives, public safety aviation, and commercial autonomous flight.
