Exyn Technologies, the Philadelphia-based autonomous mapping and perception-driven navigation company, announced it was forming a Defense Advisory Board with a former Trump administration official as its inaugural member.
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism Andrew Knaggs will join the company as part of its Defense Advisory Board. The board is intended to strengthen the company’s ability to convert its field-proven autonomy technology into U.S. and allied defense programs. The company said the board will serve as an advisory structure to support Exyn Defense, Exyn Technologies defense business.
“Autonomy is rapidly becoming a critical capability for the modern battlefield, particularly in contested environments where GPS and communications cannot be assumed,” Brandon Torres Declet, Exyn’s CEO, said. “We have spent more than a decade proving resilient autonomy in the field, and our focus now is converting that foundation into defense programs at scale. We expect the Defense Advisory Board to give Exyn direct access to leaders who understand not only the operational and technological challenges of getting advanced capabilities into the hands of the warfighter, but also the requirements, authorities and acquisition processes that determine which technologies actually get fielded.”
Prior to his service in the Trump administration, Knaggs managed a $1 billion research and development portfolio and a $300 million budget as Chief of Research & Engineering at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). He is also a decorated U.S. Army Special Forces officer who commanded a Special Forces Operations Detachment-A and was awarded the Bronze Star for combat actions.
“Andrew’s combination of special operations experience, senior Pentagon leadership and defense technology and manufacturing expertise is exactly the perspective we want as we intend to scale Exyn Defense, and we are pleased to welcome him as the board’s inaugural member,” Declet said.
ExynAI is already fielded on small, unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned ground vehicles in active U.S. Department of War and United Kingdom Ministry of Defence programs. The company said it expects to appoint additional members to the board whose complementary expertise across military operations, defense acquisition, autonomous systems, national security and the defense industrial base will help the board in its mission.