In the chaos of austere and forward-deployed environments—remote and infrastructure-poor locations where military and law enforcement personnel must operate without traditional support—one of the greatest threats isn’t just the enemy, but the lack of reliable communication. Traditional networks are fragile, easily disrupted, and often nonexistent in these high-risk areas, leaving tactical operators without the connectivity they need to coordinate, adapt, and dominate the battlespace.

To overcome this challenge, Armada, a leader in full-stack edge solutions, is partnering with goTenna, a pioneer in mobile mesh networking, to redefine how organizations achieve seamless communication and data-driven operations in the most demanding conditions.

We recently sat down with Uday Tennety, VP of Products and Partnerships at Armada, for an inside look at how this partnership is shaping the future of secure, decentralized communications for the Department of Defense (DoD). During our discussion, Tennety explored how the company’s groundbreaking Galleon solution, integrated with goTenna’s mobile mesh technology, unlocks new tactical capabilities and boosts mission success for defense operators.

The Last Mile (TLM): Can you tell our readers about Armada and its Galleon Edge Computing infrastructure? Where can this be deployed? In what environments could you see law enforcement and military users deploying the Galleon?

Uday Tennety: Armada offers a suite of solutions designed to bring digital infrastructure to even the most challenging locations. Our solutions have become mission-critical for users across a number of industries, including oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, and logistics. Federal, state, and local government users also rely on Armada’s solutions to enable even the most remote operations with cutting-edge digital transformation solutions.

Our Galleon solution is a containerized, modular data center that seamlessly integrates connectivity, compute, storage, and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) capabilities to enable real-time situational awareness and operational coordination in environments where traditional infrastructure is unreliable or unavailable.

The Galleon is effectively a turnkey, portable data center solution that delivers secure, decentralized communications and advanced data processing, making it highly effective for military, emergency response, and industrial operations.

TLM: What capabilities could the Galleon enable for operators at the tactical edge? How could the computing power and connectivity enabled by the Galleon better equip tactical operators to accomplish their missions?

Uday Tennety: The Galleon provides tactical operators with robust computing power and reliable connectivity in environments where traditional infrastructure is unavailable or compromised. By integrating edge computing, storage, and AI/ML capabilities, it enables real-time data processing and analysis directly at the point of need, allowing operators to make faster, intelligence-driven decisions without relying on centralized systems.

“BY DELIVERING COMPUTING POWER AND RESILIENT CONNECTIVITY AT THE TACTICAL EDGE, THE GALLEON EQUIPS OPERATORS WITH THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO ADAPT TO DYNAMIC CONDITIONS, MAINTAIN MISSION SECURITY, AND EXECUTE OPERATIONS WITH GREATER EFFICIENCY.” –UDAY TENNETY

Its ability to host mission-critical applications, such as the Team Awareness Kit (TAK) Server, ensures seamless data sharing, situational awareness, and operational coordination across distributed teams. Moreover, the rapid deployment capabilities of the Galleon enhance operational agility, allowing teams to quickly establish secure, digital command and control networks anywhere they are needed.

By delivering computing power and resilient connectivity at the tactical edge, the Galleon equips operators with the tools necessary to adapt to dynamic conditions, maintain mission security, and execute operations with greater efficiency.

TLM: How significant of a problem is connectivity in many of these forward-deployed locations that you’re describing? Are these places where terrestrial network architecture already exists? Are these places where it’s particularly easy to deploy this architecture?

Uday Tennety: Connectivity in forward-deployed locations is often one of the most critical obstacles operators face. These environments are typically hostile, remote, and infrastructure-poor.

Making matters worse, deploying traditional network architecture in these locations is neither easy nor practical. Laying fiber, setting up towers, or relying on satellite links can be slow, resource-intensive, and highly susceptible to interference or enemy targeting. Even if a temporary network is established, its effectiveness is often limited by range, terrain, and the risk of compromise.

“INTEGRATING GOTENNA’S MOBILE MESH SOLUTION WITH THE GALLEON ENSURES TACTICAL OPERATORS HAVE CONTINUOUS, SECURE COMMUNICATION AND REAL-TIME SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, EVEN IN ENVIRONMENTS WHERE TRADITIONAL NETWORKS FAIL.” –UDAY TENNETY

Whether in dense urban battlefields, rugged mountainous terrain, or GPS-denied environments, tactical teams can’t afford to rely on fragile, centralized infrastructure like cell towers or satellites that can be jammed, intercepted, or destroyed.

TLM: How can integrating goTenna’s technologies into the Armada Galleon benefit tactical operators? What capabilities will it enable for them?

Uday Tennety: Integrating goTenna’s mobile mesh solution with the Galleon ensures tactical operators have continuous, secure communication and real-time situational awareness, even in environments where traditional networks fail.

Essentially, the Galleon effectively establishes a full 5G connectivity bubble, providing high-speed, secure data access at the edge, while goTenna’s mobile mesh networking extends this bubble outward, ensuring teams remain connected regardless of their deployment location.

Operators can share data, coordinate movements, and make informed decisions without relying on fragile communications infrastructure. With real-time intelligence and seamless interoperability, operators gain the edge needed to outmaneuver threats, execute with precision, and stay mission-ready in any scenario.

TLM: How could integrating these technologies benefit military and law enforcement organizations in their need to “sense and make sense” of what’s happening in these forward-deployed locations?

Uday Tennety: By placing a TAK Server within the Galleon and connecting it to a central TAK Server Federation, operators can instantly visualize their environment, track assets, and coordinate movements in real-time—without reliance on fragile, centralized infrastructure. Whether deep in enemy territory, in dense urban environments, or across vast, remote landscapes, teams can sense and make sense of evolving threats with greater speed and precision.

“BY BRINGING TOGETHER THE POWER OF AI-DRIVEN  EDGE COMPUTING AND THE ADAPTABILITY OF MESH NETWORKING, THIS SOLUTION REINFORCES OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE, ALLOWING FORCES TO STAY AHEAD OF THREATS, MAINTAIN MISSION SECURITY, AND EXECUTE FASTER, MORE INFORMED DECISIONS.” –UDAY TENNETY

By bringing together the power of AI-driven edge computing and the adaptability of mesh networking, this solution reinforces operational resilience, allowing forces to stay ahead of threats, maintain mission security, and execute faster, more informed decisions. In forward-deployed environments, where agility, security, and reliability are mission-critical, this technology ensures that military and law enforcement teams have the connectivity, intelligence, and coordination they need—whenever and wherever they need it.

TLM: Why is mobile mesh an upgrade over how tactical operators normally communicate in these environments? What does mobile mesh bring to the table that tactical radios or Mifi pucks might not?

Uday Tennety: Mobile mesh networking is a game-changer for tactical operators because it provides resilient, decentralized communication that doesn’t rely on traditional infrastructure like cell towers or satellites.

Unlike tactical radios, which often have limited range and require line-of-sight or MiFi pucks that depend on cellular networks, mobile mesh creates a self-sustaining network where every device becomes both a transmitter and a relay, dynamically extending coverage as more nodes are added.

Mobile mesh solutions ensure that every unit—whether deep in contested territory, inside urban structures, or spread across rugged terrain—remains linked through secure, end-to-end encrypted communication. Mobile mesh also seamlessly integrates with advanced situational awareness tools such as TAK or the Galleon, ensuring real-time data sharing, precision coordination, and mission continuity without reliance on fragile external systems.

In short, mobile mesh brings reliability, adaptability, and true peer-to-peer networking to the fight, giving tactical teams the edge they need to communicate securely and effectively, no matter where the mission takes them.

TLM: How important is having a small electromagnetic (EM) signature in this day and age? Why is this increasingly important for today’s military and law enforcement decision-makers? What is it about today’s threats and adversaries that makes a small EM signature important?

Uday Tennety: This is incredibly important for military and law enforcement organizations that might find their EM signatures betraying their unit locations and movements to their adversaries. A large EM signal can also expose units to electronic warfare (EW) attacks.

“…MOBILE MESH BRINGS RELIABILITY, ADAPTABILITY, AND TRUE PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKING TO THE FIGHT, GIVING TACTICAL TEAMS THE EDGE THEY NEED TO COMMUNICATE SECURELY AND EFFECTIVELY.” –UDAY TENNETY

Today’s military is preparing and equipping itself to face more sophisticated peer and near-peer adversaries. These adversaries are far more capable than those our military has faced in the past. They have far better intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, more advanced EW capabilities, and effectors that can reach locations previously considered safe and hold them under threat.

These more advanced adversaries can identify the location of opposing units using their EM signatures and then leverage their advanced weaponry to hold them under threat. Minimizing the EM signature of troops will be essential to keep warfighters safe and their locations a secret from the enemy in the future.

The same thing applies to law enforcement organizations. Agencies like the U.S. Border Patrol are facing threats that are incredibly well-funded and capable. Having a large EM signature or footprint could alert these adversaries to unit locations and otherwise compromise the mission.

TLM: How does mobile mesh compare to other types of communication when it comes to EM signature and footprint?

Uday Tennety: Mobile mesh networking solutions, especially goTenna’s mobile mesh networking solutions, leverage short bursts of communication that are difficult to anticipate and detect. These solutions transmit quickly – with transmission times of less than a second – making it much harder to leverage the signals to identify troop locations or movements.

This gives mobile mesh a low probability of intercept(LPI) and a low probability of detection (LPD), and makes it an excellent alternative for communications between operators in locations where adversaries could be using EM signatures to identify the presence and location of military or law enforcement personnel.

To learn more about how integrating edge computing and mobile mesh networking can benefit the defense sector, click HERE.