L3Harris unveils DiSCO ISR software onboard Shadow Fox USV

The L3 Harris Shadow Fox USV berthed alongside a jetty at DSEI 2025. (Janes/Kirk Evans)

L3Harris Technologies has showcased its Distributed Spectrum Collaboration and Operations (DiSCO) architecture aboard its Shadow Fox unmanned surface vehicle (USV).

The system was demonstrated at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2025 exhibition held in London. By integrating communication and radar data into a near-realtime common operating picture, DiSCO is designed to allow users to distribute intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and situational awareness capabilities.

Launched internally in 2023, DiSCO was conceived as the company's response to an evolving battlespace comprising distributed sensors, autonomous platforms, and digital-first adversaries. “Making sense of the electromagnetic spectrum at speed and at scale is a challenge no human team can manage alone,” said Robert Raymond, L3Harris' director of Business Development. “DiSCO was designed as the connective tissue – an open protocol that fuses data from distributed platforms and sensors, moves it efficiently across networks, and delivers it where commanders need it most.”

USV cloud

DiSCO is a scalable, software-defined ecosystem that ingests and prioritises data, aimed at reducing bandwidth demands while providing actionable insights. In congested or contested environments, it is intended to ensure that critical information reaches commanders, enabling timely and informed decisions.

“Whether you're on a ship, ashore, or thousands of miles away, if you can securely touch the cloud, you can access and command DiSCO,” Raymond said. “And when connectivity is denied, our edge-processing mode allows local battle management to continue – ensuring mission resilience.”

Introduced in 2018, L3 Harris' 13 m Shadow Fox USV can reach speeds over 40 kt in light configuration, a company representative told Janes .