The State of FPGA Technology: 5 Disruptive Trends for Engineers to Watch in 2026

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have long been essential to aerospace and defense systems that rely on flexibility and security for mission-critical performance. Current FPGA trends are being shaped by new system demands that are changing how these platforms are designed and deployed.

Artificial intelligence (AI), sensor fusion, edge processing, and spaceborne systems — along with the ever present need for size, weight, and power (SWaP) optimization — are driving new innovations and introducing new challenges. Here are five changes in the FPGA landscape that engineers should watch closely in 2026 to prepare for the next decade of A&D design and development.

For many teams, that raises a practical question: What is the future of FPGA?

1. The Shift to SoC

The industry is seeing a major shift in integrated circuit (IC) design where functionality that once required multiple devices is now found in a single system on a chip (SoC). In the case of FPGAs, manufacturers are providing more than just programmable fabric. Modern FPGAs are sophisticated SoCs incorporating many functions in hard silicon beyond the programmable fabric: general-purpose processors, specialized AI engines for inference, dedicated encryption cores, Ethernet, memory controllers, and more.

Both AMD and Intel are embracing this model, which effectively consolidates what once required multiple components on a 3U VPX card into a single chip, all connected by a programmable network on a chip (NoC) that moves data internally instead of across the board. The result is greater power efficiency, lower latency, and more programmable logic available for the application.

It’s important to note that density gains don’t always mean smaller devices. Many SoCs are the same size — or even twice as large — as the FPGAs they replace, yet up to four times more capable. Engineers should recognize this trade-off: slightly larger silicon, but far greater performance.

2. Integrated Rugged Optical Transceivers

Limitations in high-speed data transfer can bottleneck systems that are tasked with processing vastly expanding volumes of data. To address it, many companies are working to integrate optical transceivers directly into SoC packages — an effort largely driven by big data centers (and their big budgets) racing to move data faster and more efficiently.

Though integrated ROTs aren’t yet production-ready for extreme environments, their ability to bring optical data directly into the FPGA without an external fiber-to-copper conversion promises enormous SWaP advantages: up to 10 times lower power per bit while freeing up to 20% of board space. They also simplify board designs by eliminating the challenge of routing many high-speed electrical signals across the board.

3. CXL Enabling Heterogeneous Data Sharing Via PCIe Interface

CXL (Compute Express Link) enables memory sharing between components over the PCIe interface. That makes CXL a powerful technology for sensor fusion, where data from all over the platform must move quickly and efficiently between multiple processing cards — CPU, GPU, and FPGA. While RoCE v2 (RDMA over Converged Ethernet) supports box-to-box data sharing, CXL enables data sharing within the box or on a single module, allowing devices to communicate and share memory with less overhead.

The benefits are compelling, as CXL promotes modularity by allowing cards from different manufacturers to share data and work together seamlessly. It could also reduce reliance on DDR memory by allowing all devices to share a DDR cache instead of maintaining their own.

4. Security and Space

The rapid advancement of AI and quantum computing has made security more critical than ever for FPGAs. A code that once would have taken billions of years to crack can now be broken in an hour, underscoring the need for robust, future-proof protection in the high-stakes world of aerospace and defense.

On the horizon, engineers will leverage quantum algorithms and quantum computers – at least 1,000 times more powerful than today’s laptops — to generate security keys, handle quantum-resistant encryption, and perform tamper checks on hardware and software loads.

It’s not just terrestrial security that matters, either. Many believe the next battlefield will be fought in space and across the RF spectrum. We’re already seeing a surge in FPGAs used in space, driving demand for rad-tolerant and rad-hardened FPGAs that can not only survive but reliably perform in the harshest environments.

5. Challenges

No great innovation comes without challenges, and two of the biggest challenges in the evolving FPGA landscape are lagging toolchains and a shortage of FPGA talent.

Hardware capabilities are advancing faster than the tools and skills needed to fully harness them.However, we’re also seeing emerging techniques — such as using digital twins to train and test AI algorithms for more rapid deployment — and improved toolchains like Vivado and Vitis, along with integration of AI frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow, that are evolving to bridge the gap between software and hardware design.

In addition, while there are many talented software developers, there are relatively few experienced FPGA developers. There is a need for greater workforce training to implement evolving FPGA technology.

Finally, long platform cycles — often eight to twelve years — mean hardware must remain viable while the industry continues to evolve. There’s where FPGA programmability is key, as the ability to reconfigure hardware logic prevents obsolescence.

Looking Ahead

It’s clear that the pace of change is accelerating. FPGA technology is evolving, and the engineers and companies that evolve along with it will carve a competitive advantage that positions them for sustainable success in the A&D sector. For teams evaluating next steps or planning future platforms, New Wave Design can help translate these FPGA trends into practical, field-ready solutions. Contact our team to start the conversation.