Persistent Systems
Table of Contents

⚠ Disclaimer: This entry may be incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate. It is AI-maintained on a best-effort basis. Do not rely on it as a sole source — verify claims independently using the sources listed below.

Summary

Persistent Systems, LLC, headquartered at 601 West 26th Street, New York, builds the Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET) and the MPU5 radio that runs it. The MPU5 is an Android-based radio with 3×3 MIMO and up to 10 W transmit power; the company lists it as IP68-rated and Blue UAS-certified. Its company news feed reports an $87.5M US Army order for MANET devices in the NGC2 prototype (2026-02-13), more than 2,000 MPU5 radios for the Royal Marines (2025-11-05), the 4th Infantry Division equipped with Wave Relay devices for NGC2 (2025-10-27), a US Navy unmanned surface vessel communications selection (2025-06-17) and NSA CSfC approval (2025-06-13). It competes mainly with Silvus Technologies.

Key Facts

  • HQ: 601 West 26th St., Suite 905, New York, NY; regional offices in Fort Collins, CO and Pinehurst, NC
  • Type: private
  • Products: MPU5 MANET radio; embedded module (pre-certified MIL-STD-461 RE102); rugged display and controller; RF modules; antennas; Cloud Relay virtual hub router (extended to Microsoft Azure, 2025-10-13); PT5 accessory (launched 2025-03-14)
  • Army: $87.5M order from US Army CPE C3N for MANET devices in the NGC2 prototype (2026-02-13); 4th Infantry Division equipped with Wave Relay devices for NGC2 (2025-10-27)
  • UK: more than 2,000 MPU5 radios with the Royal Marines (2025-11-05); the company’s June 2023 release reported orders for over 1,000
  • Navy: selected for a US Navy contract supporting USV MANET communications (2025-06-17)
  • FBI: position on a potential $100M IDIQ for MPU5-based radio systems (announcement dated June 5; year not shown in the excerpt)
  • Ecosystem: AEVEX joined the Wave Relay Ecosystem (2026-05-19); exclusive network provider for Remotec ANDROS robots (2024-09-10)
  • CEO: Herbert Rubens (described as CEO in an ExecutiveBiz excerpt)

What It Is / How It Works

Wave Relay is a self-forming, self-healing mesh: any node can route traffic for any other through multiple hops without a base station. The MPU5 packages the radio with an Android computer so applications such as ATAK can run on the device; the company’s Royal Marines release describes sharing voice, video, text, GPS location and sensor data, including from unmanned systems, directly between devices.

Ecosystem strategy. Third-party drones, ground robots and sensors join the Wave Relay Ecosystem to share one network and command-and-control; once a program standardizes on the network, adjacent hardware follows.

Notable Developments

  • 2026-05-19: AEVEX joins the Wave Relay Ecosystem. (UST)
  • 2026-03-25: Third Technical Exchange Meeting, about 400 attendees. (UST)
  • 2026-02-13: $87.5M US Army CPE C3N order for NGC2 prototype MANET devices. (UST)
  • 2025-11-05: Wave Relay powers more than 2,000 Royal Marines MPU5 radios. (UST)
  • 2025-06: US Navy USV selection (06-17); NSA CSfC approval (06-13). (UST)
  • 2023-06-06: Orders for over 1,000 MPU5 radios under the UK Future Commando Force. (Persistent)
  • 2020-04-08: $25M four-year USAF WaRTAK contract for MPU5 devices. (Defense Daily)

Key People

Herbert Rubens — CEO

  • LinkedIn: not re-verified
  • Role: described as CEO in an ExecutiveBiz excerpt (ExecutiveBiz)

Adrien Robenhymer — VP of Business Development (2020)

  • LinkedIn: not found
  • Role: quoted in the April 2020 USAF release; current role not confirmed

Eve Shapiro — Director of Business Development, International (2023)

  • LinkedIn: not found
  • Role: quoted in the June 2023 Royal Marines release; current role not confirmed

Founders’ backgrounds and prior employers were not confirmed from fetched sources.

People — Last Reviewed: 2026-10-25

Supply Chain Position

Persistent is a component and subsystem supplier selling radios and the Wave Relay network to defense integrators and end users. Manufacturing details were not found. ⚑ Competitive overlap: Silvus competes for the same Army and special operations MANET programs.

Claim Verification

Claim: MPU5 is “the world’s first Smart Radio”

Status: Unverified

Supporting sources:

Refuting / questioning sources:

  • “First” is a marketing claim with no independent confirmation; the company’s MPU5 page could not be read in this review.

Summary: The Android-based design is documented; priority is not.

Claim: Blue UAS certification

Status: Partially verified

Supporting sources:

Refuting / questioning sources:

  • A DIU Blue UAS list entry was not checked.

Summary: A vendor-profile statement.

Sources

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