NUBURU’s Tekne Enters U.S. Army Electronic Warfare Competition, Targets Counter-Drone and NATO Tenders
Two technical white papers and a counter-drone Fly Away Kit response submitted to U.S. Army xTech as the Company
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NUBURU, Inc. (NYSE American: BURU) (“NUBURU” or the “Company”) today announced that Tekne S.p.A. (“Tekne”), its 70%-owned electronic warfare and tactical vehicle subsidiary, has submitted two technical white papers to the U.S. Army’s Spectrum Enabled Warfare xTech competition and a response to the C-UAS Fly Away Kit xTech competition. NUBURU is also reviewing NATO procurement opportunities.
The procurement initiatives follow NUBURU’s completion of the Tekne acquisition on October 15, 2026. Tekne designs and manufactures electronic warfare systems and specialty and tactical vehicles in Italy. In its October 22, 2026 commercial update announcing Gianluca Trezza’s appointment as Tekne CEO, NUBURU disclosed approximately $96.8 million in remaining order and program value. The same update identified approximately $259.8 million in additional gross pipeline across 41 prospective opportunities, including $181.5 million in military and defense applications.
“Tekne gives our U.S. defense strategy an operating industrial base and an existing product portfolio,” said Alessandro Zamboni, Executive Chairman and Co-CEO of NUBURU. “These Army submissions are a concrete step in matching those capabilities to customer requirements. We are developing local partnerships to support technical evaluations and future commercial opportunities.”
Three procurement initiatives
U.S. Army – Spectrum Enabled Warfare. Tekne submitted two technical white papers covering passive sensing and tactical surveillance, and electronic countermeasures. Under the published competition terms, up to 15 finalists may be invited to a live Army-led Soldier exercise in 2027. Up to five eventual winners may receive an additional $150,000 each and be considered for follow-on agreements. The competition provides up to $1.5 million in total cash prizes and a separate potential funding pool of up to $6 million for follow-on prototype agreements.
U.S. Army – C-UAS Fly Away Kit. Tekne has submitted a response to this competition for portable, modular counter-drone systems for expeditionary sites, ahead of the November 17, 2026 deadline. The published terms provide up to $1 million in total cash prizes and a separate potential funding pool of up to $5 million for follow-on prototype agreements. These figures and the Spectrum figures above are competition-wide pools, not awards to Tekne. Follow-on agreements are subject to separate selection, available funding and applicable requirements.
NATO – portable jamming kits. NUBURU is reviewing NATO Allied Command Transformation’s tender for six portable GNSS and drone-link jamming kits, due November 30, 2026, and monitoring future competitions for NATO’s Drone Edge counter-drone marketplace.
What Tekne brings to U.S. and allied programs
NUBURU Defense LLC is positioning Tekne’s Tactical Bubble and J4 electronic warfare systems and its tactical vehicles for U.S. and allied requirements for mobile counter-drone and electronic warfare capability. The Company plans to pursue direct bids and partner-led proposals against each program’s eligibility, qualification and support requirements. These transportable and vehicle-mounted systems are engineered and manufactured at Tekne’s Italian facilities.
In 2027, Tekne plans to pursue demonstrations, technical evaluations and customer meetings in the United States. The Army’s publicly listed 2027 test range events provide a potential route for industry to test systems and interoperability in degraded operating conditions. NUBURU is assessing a Washington, D.C.–Northern Virginia presence to coordinate local partners, technical support and program requirements.
Alongside Tekne, NUBURU plans to pursue U.S. commercial channels for Lyocon’s laser and photonics subsystems and Orbit’s operational resilience software for continuity planning, incident coordination and auditable reporting. The Company is also evaluating whether to broaden its previously announced collaboration with Maddox Defense Incorporated for the U.S. dual-use market, including defense, civil protection, emergency response and firefighting. The review considers how Tekne, Lyocon and Orbit capabilities could complement Maddox Defense’s U.S. commercial capabilities.
NUBURU’s longer-term goal is to establish a U.S. hangar to house selected Defense & Security platform systems and support customer demonstrations and technical evaluations. The plan depends on site availability, funding and applicable approvals.
“For each opportunity, we’re deciding which capabilities we can supply directly and where a partner would help us integrate and support the system,” said Dario Barisoni, Co-CEO of NUBURU and CEO of NUBURU Defense LLC. “Our aim is to progress from demonstrations and qualification to commercial deployments that we can support over the life of the system.”
U.S. counter-drone procurement in 2026
Recent U.S. counter-drone procurements include a contract with a $500 million maximum ordering ceiling, a $464.8 million Army production award for high-energy laser systems, and an initial task order of approximately $87 million for tactical command-and-control software. These examples illustrate procurement activity across three distinct areas and provide market context for NUBURU’s U.S. strategy.
About NUBURU, Inc.
NUBURU, Inc. (NYSE American: BURU) develops software-orchestrated, hardware-enabled systems for defense and security, critical infrastructure and digital resilience. Its dual-use Defense & Security platform brings together directed-energy and other non-kinetic technologies, electronic warfare and defense mobility, operational resilience software, and advanced manufacturing and sustainment. NUBURU seeks to integrate these modular capabilities around customer requirements and support them over their operational life.
For more information, visit www.nuburu.net and follow NUBURU on X.
About NUBURU Defense LLC
NUBURU Defense LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NUBURU, Inc., supports industrial development, technology integration and commercialization for the Company’s Defense & Security platform. It holds a 70% controlling interest in Tekne S.p.A. and controls Orbit S.r.l. through board appointment rights. NUBURU Defense Italy S.r.l. supports the coordination and development of the Company’s Italian defense platform.
Tekne develops electronic warfare systems and designs and manufactures specialty and tactical vehicles. Orbit provides operational resilience software for business continuity planning, incident coordination and auditable reporting.
About NUBURU Subsidiary, Inc.
NUBURU Subsidiary, Inc. wholly owns Lyocon S.r.l., an Italian laser technology company that designs, manufactures and integrates laser systems. Lyocon supports NUBURU’s industrial laser business and the development of photonics capabilities for potential dual-use applications.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include plans for U.S. and allied market entry, pipeline conversion, procurement participation, demonstrations and technical evaluations, a potential U.S. presence and hangar, commercialization, partnerships and a potential expansion of the Maddox Defense collaboration. Future submissions and bids are subject to management approval and applicable competition and tender requirements. There is no assurance that Tekne or NUBURU will be selected, qualified or awarded any contract. The order, program and pipeline figures are preliminary, unaudited management measures previously disclosed on October 22, 2026 and presented at 100% of Tekne. The approximately $96.8 million remaining order and program value is based on the September operating schedule, includes conditional items and is not validated signed backlog. The approximately $259.8 million additional gross pipeline comprises 41 prospective opportunities that remain subject to procurement decisions and contract awards. These measures are not U.S. GAAP revenue or financial guidance. Realization depends on funding, production, delivery, customer acceptance and collection, and amounts and timing may change. USD values are approximate and use the previously disclosed reference exchange rate of $1.1551 per euro; actual U.S. GAAP translation rates may differ. Contract awards to third parties are market context only and are not indicative of results NUBURU may achieve. Actual results may differ materially due to selection and eligibility decisions, procurement timing and funding, technical qualification, partner negotiations, available resources, customer demand, Golden Power conditions, intellectual property, export and import controls, other required approvals, and the risks in NUBURU’s SEC filings. Statements speak as of this release’s date. NUBURU undertakes no obligation to update them except as required by law.
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