RTI Connext Receives Industry Recognition as Leading Data Platform for Autonomous Systems

Trusted by 45 of the top 50 defense companies, Connext delivers secure, scalable real-time data connectivity for the future of defense

SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 11, 2025 – Real-Time Innovations (RTI), the software framework company for physical AI systems, today announced that RTI Connext® has been selected as the winner of the Top Unmanned Systems Data Processing and Analytics Platform award by the Inside Unmanned Systems Innovation Vanguard Awards (IVA) program. This recognition underscores the crucial role Connext plays in providing real-time data connectivity essential for autonomous operations, sensor fusion, and multi-domain coordination in unmanned systems.

''The challenge of autonomy isn’t just building fast—it’s building right,'' said Stan Schneider, CEO of RTI. ''Connext provides a proven software framework that helps emerging innovators get to the field faster while enabling established primes to integrate new capabilities. Connext delivers the secure, intelligent foundation needed to scale autonomy across domains.''

In today’s race to field autonomous systems faster, initiatives like the DoD’s Replicator program are reshaping expectations across the defense landscape. Speed is no longer a goal—it’s the requirement. Connext helps new innovators, including Silicon Valley disruptors, field autonomy concepts quickly.  Its proven, standards-based framework eliminates the burden of building infrastructure from scratch. At the same time, established defense primes rely on Connext to move at mission speed, modernizing legacy systems while accelerating the deployment of next-gen capabilities. Connext is already trusted across 2,000+ systems and 500+ programs of record including over 300 autonomous vehicle designs. And yet, Connext also delivers the industry’s most scalable, secure, and future-ready foundation for autonomy.

Connext excels at tough deployments. It provides the data confidentiality, integrity, and resilience across multiple security domains that autonomous systems need. It can operate reliably in contested environments, where the risk of disruption or compromise is high. Because it can handle these challenges, Connext leads the industry in real-world use, running more than $1 trillion of total deployed systems.

The pace of unmanned systems development has also raised the bar for real-time data processing and analytics. Meeting this demand requires a robust data infrastructure that can support complex autonomous behaviors across domains—whether in the air, on land, at sea, or in space.

For more information on RTI in Aerospace & Defense, please visit the RTI website.

About RTI 

RTI is the software framework company for physical AI systems, with a mission to run a smarter world. RTI Connext^® provides the data architecture for over 2,000 designs in Aerospace and Defense, Medtech, Automotive, and Robotics – running in more than $1T of total deployed systems worldwide. Only RTI combines decades of technical expertise with industry-leading software and tools to develop smarter systems, faster. Learn more at www.rti.com.