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UK Ministry of Defence Funds PYRAMID Open Avionics for Drones, Swarms, and Sixth-Gen Fighters
UK Defence Innovation awards £2 million to advance PYRAMID open avionics architecture in uncrewed systems and future combat platforms, enhancing modularity, interoperability, and software reuse.
The gist
UK MOD invests £2 million to develop PYRAMID open avionics architecture across drones, swarms, and cutting-edge combat aircraft platforms.
The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MOD) is accelerating its commitment to open avionics architecture with a recent £2 million funding boost aimed at incorporating PYRAMID standards into various uncrewed aerial and mission systems. This initiative, led by UK Defence Innovation (UKDI), is designed to foster modular avionics solutions that support enhanced capability upgrades over time and encourage a broader supplier base. The announcement, made on June 25, 2026, follows an earlier phase credited with expanding the ecosystem of PYRAMID-compliant components and software.
PYRAMID stands for a modular, open reference architecture referred to as the PYRAMID Reference Architecture (PRA), targeting both legacy and new platform avionics. This architecture allows software components to be reused across multiple platforms, which reduces development time and cost while ensuring easier maintenance and upgrading during an aircraft’s operational life. Additionally, the open framework seeks to reduce the UK's reliance on single suppliers by enabling interoperability among subsystems sourced from different vendors.
Key players in this latest funding round include four companies chosen to implement PRA standards across diverse use cases that span from individual drones to advanced combat aircraft. Barnard Microsystems is developing the PRA architecture into its all-electric AWAE-24 unmanned aerial vehicle, enabling operations of both individual drones and drone groups, and is also preparing to apply lessons learned to future designs that will require longer range and higher speeds.
Meanwhile, FLYBY Technology, led by former fighter pilot and weapons instructor Jon Parker, is targeting the integration of the PYRAMID Reference Architecture into flying combat platforms. This marks a significant step toward leveraging open avionics in manned and potentially unmanned combat aircraft, highlighting a transition from experimental applications to core operational assets.
Auterion, in collaboration with Frazer-Nash Consultancy, is focused on enhancing the Nemyx swarm autonomy platform with PYRAMID compliance. Their work aims to demonstrate how open architecture supports highly coordinated swarming uncrewed systems, which are increasingly important for modern battlefield scenarios.
A notable aspect of this phase is the emphasis on interoperability between UK and US avionics standards. Applied Intuition UK is working on an airborne targeting system compatible with both PYRAMID and the United States’ Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) standard. This dual compliance is crucial for the upcoming Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a UK-Italy-Japan venture to develop a sixth-generation fighter aircraft by 2035.
The GCAP’s multinational nature requires seamless avionics integration among partners, and efforts to align PYRAMID and FACE architectures position UK suppliers advantageously. Applied Intuition UK’s initiative indicates a strategic approach to ensuring that UK-built avionics components will be compatible with allied platforms, easing coalition operational coordination.
Mike Lane, the PYRAMID lead at the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office, emphasized the value of the initial phase in attracting UK and international partners and broadening the supplier base for compliant hardware and software. He described UKDI’s financial contributions as significant to accelerating open architecture adoption across the defence sector.
UK Defence Innovation has committed to continuing the promotion of PYRAMID and related funding opportunities beyond this current phase, reflecting the strategic importance of open avionics for future defence capabilities. This sustained investment highlights the UK MOD’s vision to modernize its aerial combat and mission systems by fostering open standards, modularity, and multinational interoperability.
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