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From The Editor: Charting the Technologies That Will Shape Medtech in 2026

As the medtech ecosystem braces for another year of rapid transformation, the need for clarity, adaptability, and technical depth has never been greater. The Winter 2025 Medical Design Briefs Resource Guide continues our mission to provide expert-driven insights into the components, materials, and manufacturing strategies shaping next-generation devices. Read on to hear more from Sherrie Trigg, Editor and Director of Medical Content.

Engineering Compact, Energy-Efficient Electronic Drug-Delivery Pens

The design of electronic drug-delivery pens requires precise control, compact form factors, and exceptionally low power consumption — requirements that can only be met by thoughtful component selection and close collaboration with experienced suppliers. Read on to learn more.

High-Flying Output: Key Machining Techniques for Structural Aircraft Components

Structural aircraft components and the methods for making them have changed significantly, driven by advancements in technology and new demands in the industry. Aerospace assemblies are becoming lighter and more complex, while every aspect of how these components are designed and made is evolving. Read on to learn more.

Aerospace & Defense Podcasts

Listen to four Aerospace & Defense Technology podcasts from the last month.

New Products

See the new products, including Kontron's VX307C, a rugged 3U VPX computing module based on the Intel® Xeon® D-1700/1800 platform; Concurrent's Narvi, a rugged XMC form factor GPGPU and graphics processing card developed in collaboration with EIZO Rugged Solutions; ITT Cannon’s C5 Warrior connectors; and more.

Integrated Electric Power Kits for Army Vehicles

Leonardo DRS has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army to develop prototype Vehicle Integrated Power Kits (VIPKs) to support the growing need for easy-to-access, on-demand electrical power in the field. Read on to learn more.

A New Clean Room for Missile and Satellite Propulsion Components

Moog Inc. announced the groundbreaking on its new clean room in Niagara Falls, New York. This will support the growing demand Moog is seeing for innovative satellite and missile propulsion components and systems from space and defense customers. Read on to learn more.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft Engine Testing

Raytheon’s Pratt & Whitney is developing a new family of engines, scalable from 500 to 1,800 pounds of thrust, that are capable of powering munitions and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Read on to learn more.

Helsing’s New CA-1 Europa Autonomous Fighter Jet

Defense technology startup Helsing unveiled its new CA-1 autonomous fighter jet powered by their proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) software Centaur during a launch ceremony in Germany last week. Read on to learn more about it.

Controlling Heat Spikes in Electric Aircraft at Takeoff

Researchers at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Brazil’s Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) will combine forces on one of the main challenges of electric aircraft — controlling the heat spikes they generate at takeoff. Read on to learn more.

Electric Propulsion for a Nuclear-Powered Spacecraft

To develop spacecraft that can “maneuver without regret,” the U.S. Space Force is providing $35 million to a national research team, including engineers at the University of Washington. It will be the first to bring fast chemical rockets together with efficient electric propulsion powered by a nuclear microreactor. Read on to learn more.

Novel Chromium–Molybdenum Metal Alloy Withstands Extreme Conditions

A new material might contribute to a reduction of the fossil fuels consumed by aircraft engines and gas turbines in the future. A research team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has developed a refractory metal-based alloy with properties unparalleled to date. Read on to learn more about it.

German Researchers Test Quantum Channels In-Flight

It is not easy to transmit individual photons precisely from an aircraft, capture them in a ground station and detect them successfully. Researchers have, however, now managed to do exactly that. They have even measured, multiple times, various quantum channels between an aircraft and a ground station, sent photons to an ion trap and tested technologies for quantum key distribution (QKD). Read on to learn more.

How the US Space Force is Leveraging Commercial Antennas for Defense Applications

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) achieved a major milestone during a demonstration event in August, showcasing the Joint Antenna Marketplace (JAM) and successfully transferring the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Transmit/Receive Enterprise (TREx) Service from a research and development project into an SSC operational prototype. Read on to learn more.

How Lightweight Coatings Protect Aerospace and Defense Electronics

While stresses such as altitude changes, vacuum, vibration, moisture and chemical exposure have the potential to wreak havoc on electronic components, conformal coatings have become essential to providing protection in the midst of these challenges. Read on to learn more.

Digitally Transforming the Future of Defense: Collaborative Combat Aircraft

A very promising application of technologies is the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) being developed for sixth-generation fighter aircraft. On top of an advanced crewed jet integrated with cutting-edge software and equipment, sixth-generation aircraft will be accompanied by several autonomous CCAs, supporting the crewed aircraft in a multitude of functions. Read on to learn more.

Future-Proofing the Tactical Edge: Converging AI, Edge Processing, and Hybrid Cloud for Modern Battlefield Operations

In the emerging era of information warfare, the cognitive tactical network — a system that senses, learns, and adapts autonomously — will define victory. Future-proofing the tactical edge is not optional; it is the strategic imperative for achieving dominance across the multidomain battlespace of tomorrow. Read on to learn more.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: OnLogic's new edge computer series, the Karbon 520.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a drone with flapping wings that can locate and hover around a moving light like a moth to a flame; a new multi-layered metalens design that could revolutionize portable optics in devices like phones, drones, and satellites; and more.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including the new ImageIR® 9800 from infraTec; Instron's new 100 kN table model for the 6800 and 3400 Series universal testing systems; Sumida Corporation's CIUH10D46 and CIUH10D47 pulse transformers; and much more.

Building a Good Indoor Climate with Sustainable Building Components

A team of researchers from ETH Zurich investigated a new approach to passive dehumidification of indoor spaces. Read on to learn more about it.

Integrating Photovoltaics with Crop Production

As countries race to expand renewable energy infrastructure, balancing clean electricity production with land use for food remains a pressing challenge — especially in Japan, where mountainous terrain limits space. A recent study led by researchers from the University of Tokyo explores a promising solution: integrating solar panels with traditional rice farming in a practice known as agrivoltaics. Read on to learn more.

Shoreline Model Predicts Storm Protection, Sea-Level Rise

Researchers have created a simulation model to analyze how coastal management activities meant to protect barrier islands from sea-level rise can disrupt the natural processes that are keeping barrier islands above water. Read on to learn more about it.

3D Construction of Biologically Derived Materials

NASA has developed a novel approach for macroscale biomaterial production by combining synthetic biology with 3D printing. This innovation provides modern design and fabrication techniques for custom-designed organic or organic-inorganic composite biomaterials produced from limited resources. Read on to learn more.

Micro-Organ Device Mimics Organ Structures for Lab Testing

NASA Johnson Space Center has developed the Micro-Organ Device (MOD) platform technology that serves as a drug screening system with human or animal cell micro-organs to supplement and reduce animal studies while potentially increasing the success of clinical trials. Read on to learn more.

Smart Wound Monitor Poised to Improve Infection Care

Researchers from RMIT University have developed a wearable wound monitoring device with integrated sensors that could reduce infection risks by minimizing the need for frequent physical contact. Read on to learn more about it.

‘Leukemia-On-A-Chip’ Could Transform CAR T Blood Cancer Treatments

A collaborative multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University has developed a miniature device that could transform how blood cancer treatments are tested and tailored for patients. Read on to learn more.

The U.K.’s First Long-Distance, Quantum-Secured Video Call and More

Researchers have successfully demonstrated the U.K.’s first long-distance ultra-secure transfer of data over a quantum communications network, including the U.K.’s first long-distance quantum-secured video call. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Give New Meaning to the Term “Microwave Brain”

Cornell researchers have developed a low-power microchip they call a “microwave brain,” the first processor to compute on both ultrafast data signals and wireless communication signals by harnessing the physics of microwaves. Read on to learn more about it.