Across today’s aerospace and defense programs, one fact is clear: data is now the key to decision-making, and securely capturing, moving, and protecting it at the edge is critical for mission success.
However, system integrators, program leaders, and engineering teams face constant challenges:
- Shrinking size, weight, and power envelopes
- Increasingly complex cybersecurity mandates
- Accelerating program schedules
- Tighter budgets
- Certification uncertainty
- Interoperability challenges across mixed fleets
The DTS1X enters this environment as a rugged 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) network attached storage (NAS) device, designed to overcome obstacles, reduce program risk, and help organizations meet the most demanding requirements.
The DTS1X is now CSfC-approved, offering dual-layer, full drive encryption in a compact, lightweight package. Weighing just 3.55 pounds and drawing only 25 watts, it delivers fast 10 GbE performance and sustained write speeds of 400 MB/s.
This blog explains how the DTS1X addresses integrators’ challenges, transforming capability, reliability, and risk management across airborne, maritime, and ground platforms.
The Compounding Challenges Facing Today’s Aerospace & Defense Programs
- Resource Constraint Pressure Has Never Been Greater
Modern air and sea platforms, including ISR aircraft, UASs, UUVs, and USVs, face severe limitations. Any increase in size, power, or weight can affect range, maneuverability, endurance, buoyancy (for underwater systems), and payload flexibility. Traditional NAS solutions often force painful trade-offs between security, speed, and resource prioritization. Integrators routinely patch together disparate encryption layers, specialized storage solutions, and bulky supporting hardware, complicating installation and increasing technical risk. - High-Assurance Data Security Is Now Essential
As adversaries increasingly target both connected and disconnected mission systems, basic data-at-rest encryption is no longer enough. The sensitive nature of mission data demands two independently validated layers of encryption, a combination of hardware- and software-based protections, and compliance with evolving security standards worldwide. By providing robust security out of the box, the DTS1X eliminates integration guesswork, giving researchers, pilots, intelligence teams, and platform operators the confidence that their data remains protected, even if the platform is lost or compromised. - Program Leaders Face Mounting Pressure to Deliver Faster with Fewer Risks
Every component added to a platform either simplifies or complicates the path to operational readiness. Delays caused by integration issues, certification hurdles, or hardware failures are increasingly unacceptable. The DTS1X helps minimize installation complexity, reduces technical uncertainties, and avoids costly redesigns late in the program lifecycle. It is designed to ensure compliance with security requirements from day one, and its availability and long-term support help program managers meet demanding timelines with confidence. - Integration Complexity Is a Hidden Cost Driver
Defense primes operate in a world dominated by legacy subsystems, mixed architectures, and evolving mission payloads. When a NAS solution is difficult to integrate or requires bespoke modifications, the consequences include unexpected engineering hours, network reconfiguration, compatibility issues with flight computers or mission systems, and unpredictable test timelines. Teams need storage solutions that drop cleanly into existing, network-centric architectures without triggering a ripple effect of redesign work. Supply Chain and Certification Certainty Matters
Supply chain specialists and procurement teams must ensure hardware availability, regulatory compliance, consistent quality, support longevity, and predictable configuration control. With certification frameworks evolving, especially around encryption, solutions that reduce ambiguity and streamline approval paths provide a material advantage.
You shouldn’t have to think about storage. It should just work, even in the most demanding environments, keeping your mission-critical data safe.
How the DTS1X Directly Solves These Challenges
The DTS1X was specifically designed to eliminate the challenges integrators and program leaders encounter. Combining a compact, lightweight, and power-efficient design with high speed, robust security, and proven reliability, it sets a new standard for mission-critical platforms.
- Inside: Dual-Layer CSfC-Approved Encryption
The DTS1X delivers two complete, CSfC-approved encryption layers of full drive protection within a single commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) device. This eliminates the need to stack multiple boxes and integrate separate encryption appliances, reducing size, weight, complexity, and cost.
Why it matters for system integrators
- No more multi-vendor integration challenges
- No custom security overlays required
- No separate crypto modules to install, configure, or certify
Why it matters for program managers
- Easier path to meeting end-customer cybersecurity demands
- Reduced risk of certification delays
- Lower program cost by eliminating one-off engineering
Why it matters for operators
- Absolute confidence that sensitive mission data is protected
- Zero added complexity to platform operation
- Security that travels with the data
- Truly Optimized for Air and Sea Platforms
Weighing under 4 pounds, consuming only 25 W of power, and measuring a compact <53 cubic inches, the DTS1X integrates easily into platforms where environmental and physical constraints cannot be altered. Its small size and efficiency make it ideal for podded ISR payloads, small- and medium-sized UAVs, UUVs and other underwater platforms, submarine and shipboard installations, and crewed and uncrewed ground vehicles.
Benefits for integrators
- Simplifies mechanical and thermal design
- Drops into tight spaces without re-architecting the platform
- Reduces power system stress
Benefits for program leaders
- Helps meet strict platform weight requirements
- Minimizes engineering changes late in the design cycle
- Supports new capabilities without compromising existing ones
- High-Speed, Deterministic Data Capture
With sustained write performance of 400 MB/s over a 10 GbE interface, the DTS1X is engineered for demanding data workloads such as: HD and multi-sensor ISR streams, radar data, sonar and acoustic capture, and multi-mission payloads generating simultaneous data sources.
Benefits for integrators
- Straightforward compatibility with existing 10 GbE architectures
- No need for customized data ingest pipelines
- Stable performance in harsh environments
Benefits for program leaders
- Ensures platforms can handle both current and future data volumes
- Reduces risk of data loss or bottlenecks
- Allows future mission upgrades without needing to replace hardware
- Removable, Standardized Storage That Simplifies Operations
The DTS1X supports one removable XRM memory cartridge, built around industry-standard 2.5" SATA SSDs. The value of this design choice is significant.
Benefits for integrators
- No proprietary, single-source storage
- Leverages widely available SSD technology
- Easy field replacement and provisioning
Benefits for supply chain specialists
- Stable sourcing
- No vendor lock-in
- Reduced lifecycle costs
Benefits for operators
- Enables fast retrieval of data after missions
- Easy swap and redeploy cycles
- Minimal downtime between missions
- Designed for Seamless Integration into Network-Centric Systems
Modern platforms are adopting modular designs. The DTS1X supports this with easy 10 GbE integration, simple installation, compatibility with different systems, and built-in security that requires no extra setup.
Benefits for integrators
- Minimal engineering friction
- Plug-and-play operation
- Less time spent troubleshooting network interactions
Benefits for program leaders
- Predictable integration timelines
- Reduced technical risk
- Fewer surprises during test or certification
- Rugged, Reliable, Ready for the Harshest Operational Environments
From high-altitude flight to extreme underwater pressure, the DTS1X is engineered for the harshest conditions. It offers outstanding shock and vibration tolerance, operates reliably across a wide temperature range, and features a sealed, rugged enclosure that has proven successful across numerous programs. These qualities maximize availability, minimize field failures, and ensure mission continuity under real-world stressors.
How the DTS1X Strengthens Air, Sea, and Ground Missions
The DTS1X adapts to a wide range of mission platforms. In the air, it manages high-volume streaming data from EO/IR, radar, and SIGINT sensors, fitting easily into podded payloads and Group 2–5 UAVs while enabling quick memory cartridge swaps between missions. At sea, it delivers high reliability in pressure-variable, vibration-intense environments and consumes minimal power to extend endurance on long-duration UUV missions, keeping data secure even if an asset is lost. On the ground, the DTS1X withstands shocks and vibrations, mounts easily in tight crew compartments, and supports growing sensor fusion and autonomy workloads.
Why the DTS1X Outperforms Competitor Solutions
The DTS1X delivers double the throughput while providing dual-layer CSfC encryption in a single turnkey package. It is smaller, lighter, and brings 10 GbE performance with removable storage and dual encryption.
Competitors may emphasize SWaP or performance independently, but the DTS1X uniquely delivers optimized packaging, speed, and certified dual-layer security without compromise.
Reducing Risk. Enhancing Compliance. Accelerating Deployment.
The true value of the DTS1X is: it’s practical. The device reduces risk across the entire lifecycle of a platform:
- Design: fewer engineering hours, fewer unknowns
- Integration: clean interoperability with existing networks
- Certification: CSfC-approved dual-layer encryption removes guesswork
- Deployment: rugged design withstands real operational conditions
- Sustainment: removable, standard SSDs simplify logistics
The New Standard for Rugged, Secure NAS at the Edge
The aerospace and defense community faces growing data demands, stricter space and weight limits, and ever-higher security expectations. The DTS1X is purpose-designed to meet these challenges, offering dual CSfC-approved encryption layers, high-speed 10 GbE performance, and a compact, efficient form factor for the smallest platforms. Its rugged construction ensures reliability in any environment, while removable, widely available storage media make data management practical and flexible.
- For system integrators, it reduces complexity
- For program leaders, it reduces risk
- For supply chain teams, it reduces uncertainty
- For operators, it delivers assured data security and performance
FAQs
- What is the DTS1X, and who is it designed for?
The DTS1X is a rugged, 10 Gigabit Ethernet network attached storage (NAS) device, designed for aerospace and defense platforms that require secure, high-speed data storage in challenging environments. It is ideal for system integrators, program leaders, and engineering teams working with airborne, maritime, and ground systems. - How does the DTS1X ensure data security?
The DTS1X provides dual-layer CSfC-approved full drive encryption. This means data is protected by two independently validated encryption mechanisms that meet the most stringent standards for mission-critical and classified information, even if the platform is lost or compromised. - What makes the DTS1X different from other rugged NAS solutions?
The DTS1X combines dual-layer CSfC-approved full drive encryption, high-speed 10 GbE performance, and a compact, lightweight, high-power-efficiency design into a single COTS device, reducing integration complexity and program risk. - Which operational environments and platforms are supported by the DTS1X?
The DTS1X is engineered for air, sea, and ground missions. It withstands harsh conditions, including shock, vibration, and extreme temperatures. At only 3.55 lbs. and consuming just 25 W, the DTS1X fits into tight avionics bays, podded payloads, UAVs, UUVs, and other platforms where space, weight, and power are critical. - What kind of storage media does the DTS1X use?
The DTS1X uses a removable XRM cartridge based on widely available 2.5" SATA SSDs, providing flexible sourcing, easy mission turnaround, and simplified long-term sustainment.
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Steven Petric
Senior Product Manager
The Product Manager for our data storage solutions, Steven, is a data-driven professional with over 20 years of experience bringing new offerings to market and improving existing offerings. He has a Masters in Business along with Pragmatic Marketing Certification and is a Project Management Professional (PMP).
