AI-Controlled Intelligent Radar Market Accelerates Toward $50+ Billion Opportunity
Next-Generation Defense Systems Drive High-Growth, AI-Powered Upgrade Cycle Across Global Militaries
Market News Updates News Commentary
NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2026 /CNW/ -- The AI-Controlled Intelligent Radar Systems industry is quickly becoming one of the most important areas in modern defense technology. In simple terms, these systems combine traditional radar hardware with artificial intelligence software that can 'think' and adapt in real time. Instead of relying only on human operators to interpret signals, AI helps radar systems automatically identify drones, missiles, aircraft, and other threats faster and more accurately. That means fewer false alarms, better tracking, and stronger overall defense capabilities. For investors, this shift from hardware-only systems to AI-enhanced platforms opens the door to higher-margin software revenue layered on top of long-term defense contracts. Active Companies in military/defense industries of note include: VisionWave Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:VWAV), L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX), Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE:RTX), Rackspace Technology® (NASDAQ:RXT) and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR).
Demand is rising as global tensions increase and governments work to protect against new types of threats, including low-cost drones and advanced missile systems. Countries are modernizing their air and missile defense networks, and AI-powered radar is becoming a core piece of that upgrade cycle. The broader global military radar market is projected to surpass $50 billion within the next few years, with AI-driven systems representing one of the fastest-growing segments. As defense budgets expand in the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, intelligent radar is moving from being a 'nice-to-have' feature to a critical national security requirement.
For investors, this sector offers several attractive qualities: multi-year government contracts, predictable funding pipelines, and recurring revenue from software updates and system upgrades. Beyond the battlefield, AI-controlled radar also has growing use in border security, critical infrastructure protection, and even smart transportation systems. The combination of AI, advanced semiconductors, and next-generation sensing technology creates strong competitive barriers, favoring companies with deep technical expertise. Overall, the industry presents a long-term growth opportunity tied to both national security priorities and the global push toward smarter, more automated defense systems.
VisionWave (NASDAQ:VWAV) Initiates Development of AI-Controlled Intelligent Radar System with Distributed Mesh Decoy Architecture - VisionWave Holdings Inc. ($VWAV) ("VisionWave" or the "Company") today announced it has begun early-stage architecture and feasibility work on a conceptual AI-controlled intelligent radar system concept designed, which if successfully developed, may potentially enhance the survivability and continuity of sensing by distributing radar-related functions across a network of mesh-connected RF units.
The system concept is grounded in a resilient, distributed-sensing approach: rather than relying on a single radar site to concentrate critical functionality, the architecture, as currently contemplated, distributes sensing and RF activity across multiple nodes that can cooperate under centralized--or federated--control. By design, the system is intended to reduce single-point fragility and support graceful degradation, maintaining operational utility even if some nodes are lost, impaired, or intermittently connected. There can be no assurance that this conceptual approach will prove technically feasible or achieve the intended resilience outcomes.
Concept Overview - VisionWave is designing a modular system with three main parts. First, a fusion and orchestration component coordinate the network--assigning tasks to nodes, monitoring their health, and combining data from multiple sources. Second, distributed mesh units provide detection and reporting, and can adjust their RF behavior as needed. This allows the system to scale to different mission areas and operate under real-world conditions.
Third, an AI control layer manages the mesh as one system. It continuously adapts how the nodes behave--such as when and how they transmit or report--based on real-time conditions and confidence levels. This helps maintain a clear sensing picture while making it harder to identify any single node as the 'main' radar.
AI-Enabled Orchestration and Adaptive Control - In VisionWave's concept, AI is not treated as an add-on feature; rather, it is intended to be a coordinating mechanism that enables a distributed network to behave as a coherent sensing system. The AI layer is expected to support adaptive orchestration such as resource-aware scheduling, node-role assignment, anomaly and health monitoring, and policy-based control of network behavior. These capabilities are expected to, if successfully implemented, to increase robustness under uncertain conditions, enabling the system to respond intelligently to partial outages, changing link quality, and evolving operational constraints. No assurances can be given that the AI layer will achieve these objectives or that development will progress as planned.
Intended Advantages - VisionWave believes this design may, if successfully developed and deployed, offer certain potential benefits compared to a traditional single radar site. By spreading capability across many nodes, the system is meant to be more resilient--if some nodes are lost, performance could degrade gradually instead of failing completely. This is conceptual and remains unproven.
Because the system is distributed, critical functions are not tied to one obvious location. The modular design also makes it scalable: you can add or remove nodes to match coverage needs and budget. Finally, AI control is expected to adapt in real time so it can potentially maintain operating under conditions change. All such advantages are aspirational and subject to substantial development, testing, regulatory, and market risks.
Engineering Focus and IP Strategy - The early program phase is concentrated on system architecture definition, modeling and simulation, and the development of foundational workflows including fusion and tracking, secure device management, and cybersecurity posture appropriate for distributed fielded systems. VisionWave is also evaluating implementation pathways that enable incremental demonstrations--starting from simulation and prototype validation, and progressing toward broader-scale testing. There can be no assurance that any patents will be issued or that the IP strategy will successfully protect the Company's rights.
In parallel, VisionWave is advancing an intellectual property strategy intended to protect key architectural elements of the system, including orchestration approaches, distributed-node role definitions, and AI-supervised network behavior policies. The Company expects this strategy to include a combination of patent filings, trade secret protections, and formal invention disclosures.
"Distributed sensing is a proven resilience principle in communications and computing. We believe similar architectural thinking can materially improve radar survivability and operational continuity. Our effort is focused on laying down the architecture, validating the system modes, and progressing our IP position around AI-controlled orchestration and mesh-enabled sensor concepts," said Dr. Danny Rittman, Chief Technology Officer of VisionWave. Continued… Read this full release and additional news for VWAV by visiting: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VWAV/news/
Other recent developments in the military/A.I./Defense industries of note include:
L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has received a new contract valued at nearly $400 million to produce additional solid rocket boost motors and Liquid Divert and Attitude Control Systems (LDACS) as a supplier to the prime contract for the Missile Defense Agency's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. THAAD is one of the nation's primary defenses against short, medium and intermediate-range missiles.
"THAAD is the only U.S. system designed to intercept targets outside and inside the atmosphere, making it a critical part of the United States' missile defense system," said Ken Bedingfield, President, Missile Solutions, L3Harris. "THAAD is paramount to the security of this nation and our allies, and we are dedicated to delivering our proven propulsion for years to come."
Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE:RTX) business, was awarded a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a domestic production capability for thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) wafers, a material essential to high‑speed, secure communications and advanced sensing systems.
TFLN is used in next-generation photonics for many defense applications and a broad set of commercial applications, including AI and computing technologies, data centers, and telecommunications. With supply currently dominated by foreign sources, Raytheon aims to ensure the U.S. has a secure, domestic alternative that will be available to the entire defense industrial base and commercial industries.
Rackspace Technology® (NASDAQ:RXT), a hybrid multicloud and AI solutions company, and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), a global leader in operational artificial intelligence platforms, announced a strategic partnership to help enterprises rapidly deploy and operate Palantir's Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in production to achieve measurable business outcomes.
Through this partnership, Rackspace's governed operating model will provide consistent security, operating controls and compliance from edge to core to cloud enabling customers to deploy AI use cases with Palantir in production in weeks or months versus months or years. The companies are also collaborating to run Palantir software in Rackspace's Private Cloud and UK Sovereign data centers. This is especially critical for regulated industries where AI deployments must meet strict data sovereignty and compliance requirements.
Organizations struggle to extract business value from AI and data platforms because deploying and operating these systems at scale requires specialized expertise they often don't have in-house. As Palantir's strategic partner in data migration and global implementation services, Rackspace will help customers prioritize their most high-impact business problems, then deliver implementation, including data readiness, hosting, and ongoing managed operations of Palantir's platform to realize outcomes. As part of this collaboration, Rackspace has 30 Palantir-trained engineers to provide data migration and apply a forward deployed approach to solving high impact customer problems and is on track to scale to over 250 in the next 12 months.
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