Alpha Data and MLE Partner To Cut Firmware Development Burden From Defense FPGA Procurement
Littleton, CO, June 8, 2026 – Alpha Data Parallel Systems and Missing Link Electronics (MLE) have announced a technology partnership aimed at simplifying FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) deployment for defense and aerospace customers.
The collaboration introduces a new concept “FPGA Full System Stacks”, integrated hardware and software platforms designed to reduce procurement complexity, development risk, and time-to-deployment for FPGA based systems.
The platforms combine Alpha Data’s ruggedized, SOSA (Sensor Open Systems Architecture)-aligned FPGA hardware with MLE’s pre-validated IP cores and software stacks, covering applications including high-speed data recording, signal processing, data transport, and system-level firmware. The result is a fully integrated FPGA platform delivered through a single vendor relationship.
Defense programs often face delays and complexity when procuring FPGA software and specialist IP separately from hardware. The FPGA Full System Stack approach allows customers to source integrated hardware and software through a single approved supplier. Because each platform is validated end-to-end before delivery, customers can reduce qualification overhead, accelerate development timelines, and lower integration risk.
As AMD Premier Partners, both companies bring extensive FPGA expertise to the offering. The collaboration provides customers with a single point of accountability across hardware, software, and overall system performance.
Adam Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Data, said:
“Defense customers should not have to carry the cost and risk of integrating hardware and software themselves. By partnering with MLE, we’re lifting the procurement burden from our end customers, offering hardware and software that is qualified and procured together, ready to deploy. That is a meaningful change for program teams working under time and budget pressure.”
Endric Schubert, CTO of Missing Link Electronics added:
“The new Alpha Data FPGA Full System Stacks integrates and verifies everything engineers need to develop their application immediately. This eliminates the time and effort required to build a prototype from scratch, enabling teams to validate concepts rapidly.
“At the same time, this integrated approach ensures the users are fully supported by both hardware and software experts throughout their development cycle.
“When Wall Street wanted to program computers without having computer programmers, they invented the spreadsheet! This was our spirit when we came up with the FPGA Full System Stack: Make building FPGA-based systems easier for engineers without expert knowledge in FPGA design.”
The offering targets mission-critical aerospace and defense applications including, radar and sonar systems, electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO), military communications using MIMO and pre-6G waveform processing, edge AI inference, and signals intelligence (SIGINT).
The product line also supports space and satellite applications, including hardware configurations with single-event latch-up mitigation for high-radiation environments. Each platform is SOSA-aligned and qualified for deployment in ruggedized, conduction-cooled environments.
