Kymeta Corporation and Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. (iRocket) have engaged in a strategic collaboration to further develop, integrate and test Kymeta’s new, conformal, multi-orbit technology within iRocket’s missile interceptors.
As the Pentagon increases its reliance on commercial providers for defense technology, specifically satellite services, this partnership will enable a new generation of always-connected, highly responsive interceptor systems – a capability widely viewed as essential to the future Golden Dome vision for continental defense.
By integrating its conformal technology into iRocket’s missiles, Kymeta will enable multi-orbit, real-time satellite connectivity that delivers mid-course updates, improves accuracy, and enhances resilience in contested environments.
Kymeta’s conformal antenna innovation leverages the distinctive electromagnetic properties of metamaterials, the company’s proven engineering foundation. The conformal antenna innovation supersedes gimbaled or phased array systems, enabling a surface-integrated design that blends seamlessly into the interceptor’s body, reducing drag and detectability, while improving performance.
The lightweight, low profile of metamaterial components, combined with iRocket’s cutting-edge propulsion and interceptor capabilities, will deliver significant improvements in mission performance. These include:
- Enhanced interceptor performance: precise, agile beam steering for sensors and communications dramatically improves accuracy and effectiveness
- Reduced size, weight and power (SWaP): elimination of bulky mechanical parts, enabling smaller, lighter, and more power-efficient systems critical for range, speed, and maneuverability
- Superior signal detection and security: dynamic, low-power beamforming enhances tracking and communication while minimizing thermal and electromagnetic signatures for survivability in contested environments
- Comms resiliency: multi-orbit and multi-band connectivity supports a full PACE communications framework
iRocket views this partnership as a catalyst for breakthrough capabilities. This initiative marks a new chapter in leveraging advanced technologies for national security and defense, providing resilient, always-connected interceptor capability that will underpin the Golden Dome’s continental defense architecture. The two companies will begin joint development and testing immediately, with initial integration trials planned for second half of 2026.
With the U.S. government pushing to integrate cutting-edge commercial technology into military capabilities faster, and more flexibly, than traditional rigid procurement strategies allow, our work with iRocket meets this need and demonstrates how our metamaterial technology and their advanced rockets can jointly deliver critical new defense capabilities,” said Manny Mora, President and CEO of Kymeta. “We have demonstrated the power of our metamaterials for mobile, multi-orbit satellite communications. Now, we are applying that same innovation to help solve some of the most complex challenges in missile defense and space domain awareness.”
Integrating Kymeta’s metamaterial technology is a game-changer for our missile and space platforms,” said Asad Malik, Founder, Chairman and CEO of iRocket. “This collaboration will enable us to build smarter, faster, and more efficient systems that can outperform existing technologies. It is a critical step toward advancing our mission of delivering rapid, responsive, and reusable capabilities to the defense and space sectors.”