Kairox Systems is a San Francisco-based unmanned-systems company developing Tempest, a low-cost, fixed-wing drone designed to operate across the air–sea boundary. The vehicle can fly to an area of operations, enter the water, travel beneath the surface, and breach back into flight. By combining aerial and subsurface capabilities in one platform, Tempest aims to support missions that currently require two separate vehicles, operators, and logistics chains.

Designed for government and defense applications, Tempest is intended to provide fixed-wing air transit, low-signature subsurface movement and loiter, and return-to-flight capability. Kairox reports that the design has been validated in simulation and is at Technology Readiness Levels 4–5, with two prototype variants in development: a 3D-printed version in testing and a machined version in design. The company states that Tempest is fully NDAA compliant.

Founded by MIT engineers with experience in aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineering, and hardware development, Kairox offers briefings for government and defense organizations evaluating multi-domain unmanned systems, as well as discussions with investors about the company and Tempest program.