PHILADELPHIA, PA — Exyn Technologies (NASDAQ: EXYN, EXYNW) formed a Defense Advisory Board and named former Pentagon official and Green Beret Andrew Knaggs as its inaugural member, adding defense acquisition and operational expertise as the company seeks to expand its autonomous systems across U.S. and allied military programs.
The move follows a series of 2026 government engagements involving Exyn’s autonomy technology, including projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a planned demonstration and operational pilot with the U.S. Air Force’s Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex.
ExynAI is already deployed on small unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned ground vehicles in active U.S. Department of War and U.K. Ministry of Defence programs, according to the company.
The new advisory board is intended to help Exyn navigate defense strategy, acquisition pathways, partnerships and integration of its autonomy software across additional platforms and mission sets.
Knaggs served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism from 2017 to 2019. In that role, he worked on policy and authorities involving U.S. Special Operations Forces, counterterrorism, irregular warfare, information operations, hostage recovery and sensitive military activities.
Earlier, he was chief of research and engineering at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, where he managed a $1 billion research and development portfolio and a $300 million budget.
“Having spent my career at the intersection of special operations, technology and national security, I have seen how difficult it is to move a capability from demonstration to fielded program,” Knaggs stated.
His appointment gives Exyn direct access to experience in both military operations and the procurement processes that determine whether emerging technologies move beyond testing into funded programs.
Chief Executive Officer Brandon Torres Declet framed that transition as the company’s next strategic challenge.
“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,” Torres Declet stated.
Exyn’s technology is designed for autonomous navigation and mapping in GPS-denied and communications-constrained environments, conditions increasingly relevant to military operations involving contested terrain, underground infrastructure and degraded networks.
The company disclosed several defense-related milestones this year. In July, Exyn reported new U.S. government contracts, including work with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex on autonomous aircraft inspection and cargo mapping.
In August, Exyn Nexys was selected by a U.S. government research and engineering organization following a competitive technical evaluation against other commercial systems. The company is also pursuing Green UAS certification for the Nexys platform.
Knaggs brings additional defense-industrial experience beyond government service. He currently serves as president of Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. and previously led PACEM Solutions International and PACEM Defense, businesses involved in security services, munitions manufacturing and export-controlled defense products.
He also served nearly a decade in the U.S. Army, including as a Special Forces officer in the 5th Special Forces Group, and received the Bronze Star Medal for combat actions.
Exyn expects to add more advisory board members with backgrounds in military operations, defense acquisition, autonomous systems, national security and the defense industrial base as it expands Exyn Defense.
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