Software repository gives warfighters access to mission-critical apps on demand

As the Defense Department moves to buy and integrate software at a faster pace, the military services now have access to a tool that allows warfighters to manage and deploy mission-specific software in an instant.

Developed by Colorado-based startup Defense Unicorns, the Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS) Registry is a centralized repository that stores, verifies and distributes critical software for military operations. The platform officially launched in June and is already in use by over 30 mission systems and organizations across the military services, company CEO Rob Slaughter told DefenseScoop.

Addressing longstanding issues with software integration has been a top priority for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon leadership under the Trump administration. In March, Hegseth published a memo directing all DOD components to prioritize procurement options — such as the Software Acquisition Pathway and commercial solutions openings — tailored for rapid deployment of digital tools. 

At the same time, Katie Arrington, who is performing the duties of Pentagon chief information officer, is spearheading the Software Fast Track (SWFT) program designed to speed up the DOD’s ability to integrate software capabilities throughout the department.

Because of those mandates, coupled with an expected increase in software-defined systems operated by the Pentagon over the next few years, Slaughter expects UDS Registry’s use to quickly grow.

“I don’t know that there’s any more policy anybody could possibly write to fix the problem, because all the policy is there,” Slaughter said in an interview. “At some point, it just turns into execution, and paired with that needs to be a technology response.”

UDS Registry functions similarly to an app store, giving warfighters access to a broad catalog of verified and secure software applications that can be instantly integrated into weapons systems like fighter jets, submarines or cloud environments.

A key benefit of the registry is that it allows personnel to select only the software needed for a specific mission, freeing up a platform’s compute storage from being cluttered with unnecessary code, Slaughter explained.

“It’s not that we’re deploying new software that’s never been used. It’s that they may have 10 applications, but [operators] know because it’s an air-to-air mission, they only need three,” he said. “And if they don’t load the other seven, those other three actually become more effective because they’re saving compute resources.”

UDS Registry builds off of Defense Unicorns’ flagship product known as the UDS Core, as well as its counterpart designed for remote locations called UDS Tactical Edge. The platform is an open-source, airgap-native software deployment environment built specifically to address issues in the Pentagon’s ability to rapidly scale software. 

Slaughter noted that one reason the department struggles with software programs is because packages are often developed by companies that try to tack on defense-specific requirements — such as the ability to work while disconnected from the internet — midway through development, creating a slew of challenges that can delay or inhibit delivery.

“In the defense space, you’re semi-disconnected or fully disconnected in what we call an airgapped system,” he explained. “If you’ve been developing a product for five years and you haven’t done an airgapped deployment, what you’re going to find is the system is probably not going to work. Or even if it does work, it’s not going to work well.”

The tech stacks for defense software are also much more complex than what’s used in the commercial sector, largely due to cybersecurity risks posed by adversaries. Slaughter added that another common issue is that military personnel often lack the education or experience to manage the systems, noting that “if they can’t maintain the software themselves, it’s not actually designed for them.”

UDS Registry is available to anyone at the Pentagon already using UDS Core or UDS Tactical Edge, serving as a complementary centralized repository for storing and deploying critical defense software. The company also has a number of partnerships with defense prime contractors — including SAIC and BAE Systems — that actively use both platforms, made possible by leveraging an open-source strategy, Slaughter said.

“We know we’re not going to win every contract. We know the government isn’t going to pay us for all of those weapon systems, but we believe that the technology that we’ve developed is so important to the nation that we’re giving the majority of it away because we want the rest of the defense industrial base to adopt it,” he said.