During the month of September, the Dawn of Autonomy Podcast is diving into OEM, system, and software leaders, with a special focus on Sagetech Avionics. Leading this conversation is Tom Furey, CEO of Sagetech Avionics, a company at the forefront of situational awareness for manned and unmanned aircraft. During the podcast, Tom explores advancements in aviation technology, how Sagetech is securing both military and civil airspaces, and what the future holds.
Sagetech’s CEO: Who is Tom Furey?
Before stepping into the business world, Tom started his career flying planes off aircraft carriers as part of the U.S. Navy. It’s hard to imagine a more adrenaline-charged start, but the dynamic shifts didn’t stop there. Transitioning from the Navy, Tom worked in engineering and manufacturing before taking on a leadership role at Sagetech Avionics.
In 2019, with a few like-minded individuals, Tom led the acquisition of critical assets from Sagetech Corporation, launching Sagetech Avionics as a focused company dedicated to situational awareness and airspace safety. Now, fast forward almost five years, Tom continues to lead with a clear focus—enhancing airspace safety through cutting-edge technology.
A Look at Sagetech’s Core Mission
Sagetech’s mission is straightforward yet critical: ensuring safe airspace through advancing technology. Their portfolio? Micro-transponders and avionics systems designed to keep the skies safe, both for military and commercial operations.
Civil Aviation and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)
A major area where Sagetech shines is in civil aviation, especially when it comes to integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into shared airspace.
When you think about drones operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), you realize the magnitude of the challenge. Drones need to operate in an airspace filled with manned aircraft without compromising safety. That’s where Sagetech’s certified transponders and prototype ACAS X collision avoidance systems come into play. They’re designed to ensure drones can safely coexist with other aircraft by making them visible to air traffic control systems and other aircraft, while ensuring UAS can detect and avoid other airspace users.
And it’s not just about the future; these systems are operational today. Sagetech’s transponders and ACAS solutions are part of successful BVLOS programs, like Chevron’s drone inspections of oil pipelines. These programs use high-tech drones equipped with Sagetech’s MXS and ACS X computer, integrated with onboard radar to perform detailed infrastructure inspections over long distances without needing visual observers.
Military Operations: Enhancing Safety, Reducing Risk
Sagetech’s transponders are combat-ready. One of their key products is the MX12B transponder, used in DOD (Department of Defense) operations to enhance airspace safety and maintain friendly-versus-foe distinctions.
One real-world example is the military’s interest in counter-UAS systems. The ability to identify whether an incoming aircraft is friendly or hostile is crucial in avoiding tragedies like the Tower 22 incident in Jordan. Sagetech’s IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) transponders play a frontline role in preventing tragic mishaps, including friendly-fire incidents, by ensuring that friendly aircraft are recognized as such.
And it’s not just planes or helicopters benefiting from this tech. Small drones, often in hostile environments, can be fitted with tiny, lightweight IFF devices, marking them as friendly. By leveraging current IFF technology in creative ways, counter UAS systems can be automated to increase the safety of our solider, sailers, airmen and marines.
The MX12B: Breaking Down the Military Transponder Game-Changer
Let’s talk about one of Sagetech’s more known contributions, the MX12B. The size of a deck of cards and weighing only 190 grams, this transponder punches well above its weight class. It’s small enough for smaller military drones but packs enough technology to be compatible with larger aircraft too.
What sets the MX12B apart is its versatility. It not only includes all civil modes including a certified ADS-B receiver for civil airspace compatibility, but it’s equipped with encrypted Mode 5 IFF all the way up to level 2B, the latest enhancement to IFF capability. This enhanced level of IFF improves security and situational awareness in combat by broadcasting secure, encrypted signals that identify a vehicle as friendly without being interrogated. This allows our troops on the ground, at sea, or in the air to maintain awareness of the complete combat air picture without giving away their position with an active interrogator.
In today’s combat environment, coalition interoperability is the name of the game. The MX12B is certified by the U.S. DoD and fully compliant with NATO standards, enabling all DoD, NATO and Allied manned and unmanned vehicles to carry this critical capability without the size, weight or cost penalty of traditional IFF devices.
New Developments: The ACX 3000 and Passive Safety
What’s next on the horizon? Sagetech is working on the ACX 3000, a platform with even more functionality than the MX. This new system incorporates more memory and processing power, adding capability for collision avoidance and integrated airspace safety solutions.
On the civil side, the ACX 3000 has demonstrated its potential in BVLOS operations. For example, by combining ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) with the ability to detect non-cooperative aircraft, it significantly enhances airborne collision avoidance. Imagine fully autonomous vehicles navigating through both the commercial and military airspace safely because systems like those from Sagetech can instantly identify collision threats and take preemptive action.
Making Bigger Objects to Fit Legacy Aircraft
While Sagetech has been all about shrinking technology into smaller, lighter packages, some of their current work requires them to think bigger, literally.
Military aircraft built 25 to 50 years ago need hardware updates, but overhauling an entire fleet can be costly. Sagetech is creating systems to retrofit these older aircraft with modern avionics while keeping the wiring and framework intact. This means legacy or enduring fleets can have updated technology without needing to rewire the entire aircraft, drastically reducing costs, while more modern aircraft with digital backbones can integrate the new technology directly. And all of these aircraft can adopt new capabilities, like ACAS X collision avoidance in the future. This modular open systems architecture (MOSA) approach is at the leading edge of defense product development standards.
The Civil Airspace Conundrum
On the commercial front, Sagetech’s work is just as vital. With more companies pushing for drone delivery and BVLOS missions, the demand for airspace safety is skyrocketing.
Sagetech has partnered with American Aerospace Technologies, testing their airspace solutions on drone missions for Chevron. In one of the first major exemptions granted by the FAA, these drones can now fly well beyond the remote pilot’s sight without additional ground-based observers, performing routine BVLOS missions without requiring individual waivers. This highlights Sagetech’s role in creating a future where drones can safely, and routinely, navigate shared airspace.
Another successful deployment involves European airspace, where Primoco UAV, a Czech drone manufacturer, has integrated Sagetech’s ADS-B transponders into their aircraft for long-haul flights across Europe. Their aircraft, the Primoco One 150, received the first European Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) in the “Specific” category, a ground-breaking approval paving the way for routine BVLOS flight in Europe. This underscores how Sagetech’s technologies are shaping the future of safe drone flights not just in the U.S., but around the world.
What’s Coming Next?
Looking forward, Sagetech is gearing up to tackle more challenges—both in military and civilian airspaces. In the military sector, they’re delving deeper into counter-UAS capabilities, automated air defenses, and seamless integration with NATO and allied forces.
Things are moving quickly on the civil side, too, especially with more BVLOS waivers and exemptions rolling in. As the FAA continues expanding these approvals, they will need technology like Sagetech’s to guarantee safety.
Civil and military aviation alike are moving toward a more interconnected, transparent sky, and it looks like Sagetech Avionics will play a major role in making sure everyone gets there safely.
Sagetech Avionics is on the cutting edge of ensuring airspace safety. Whether for military operations or civilian BVLOS missions, they are creating the technologies that will guide us into next-generation airspace management. As we move closer to a fully connected sky, we’ll likely see Sagetech playing an even bigger role in keeping both manned and unmanned systems safe.
