The U.S. Navy has awarded an other transaction agreement to Leidos and Defense Unicorns to test software-only container prototypes aimed at modernizing how updates are delivered to ships, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.
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What Is the Purpose of the Prototype Effort?
The agreement is the first under a commercial solutions opening released in early 2026 by the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic's Rapid Capabilities Cell. It supports the modernization of application infrastructure through a standardized, container-native platform, enabling faster capability delivery, enhanced cyber resilience and the deployment of a secure, software-only minimum viable product.
Why Is the Navy Pursuing This Approach?
Updating software aboard deployed ships has been difficult due to limited connectivity. In many cases, updates are performed while ships are docked, requiring personnel to physically load software using disks. According to Didier “DJ” LeGoff, a Leidos senior vice president, this process can take significant time, with full network baseline updates sometimes taking up to a year.
“Today, the vast majority of the applications have to be loaded pier side with people actually walking on board with disks to load software. What this is doing is allowing us to be able to do that remotely,” said LeGoff.
How Will the System Be Tested & Used?
LeGoff said the prototype allows personnel to remotely upload, patch and distribute applications, with visibility into deployed software. The system packages applications into smaller segments that can be transmitted over limited connections and is designed to operate on commercial stacks. Testing will take place in a lab environment in San Diego over two months, with potential follow-on evaluations aboard ships.
