Sovereign embedded R&D for defence and aerospace – engineered inside the EU

Q: Is needCode an EU-based, NATO-aligned engineering partner?

Yes - needCode is based in Kraków, Poland, an EU and NATO member state, and operates as an EU-resident embedded engineering team aligned with EU and NATO requirements. Development, data, and IP stay inside the allied perimeter, with no non-allied dependencies in the development pipeline. The company is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 for information security.

Q: How does needCode handle data security and IP protection?

needCode is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 for information-security management and applies secure development practices, with secure boot, signed firmware, and encrypted data handling designed into the systems it builds. Your data and IP remain inside an EU-resident, allied development environment under the controls a programme requires. The posture is built to be audit-ready rather than assembled after a security review.

Q: Can needCode provide GPS-denied positioning?

Yes - GPS-denied positioning is a core needCode discipline, delivered with UWB ranging that provides precise location where satellite navigation is jammed, spoofed, or unavailable. The systems are NLOS-resilient, aligned to FiRa and Omlox, and reach sub-13cm static accuracy indoors and in contested environments. As the largest dedicated UWB team in Central Europe and a certified Qorvo partner, this is needCode's strongest technical capability.

Q: Is needCode ISO 27001 certified?

Yes - needCode is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 for information-security management and to ISO 9001:2015 for quality management. These certifications reflect the secure, reliable delivery posture a compliance-sensitive programme expects from an external partner. They are evidenced certifications, not claims.

Q: Does needCode do classified or controlled-technology work?

needCode delivers compliance-sensitive embedded R&D and dual-use wireless and positioning systems from an EU/NATO-aligned base, under ISO/IEC 27001 controls. The specific clearance, export-control, and classification requirements of a given programme are scoped together before any engagement.

Q: Which standards does needCode align with for defence positioning?

needCode aligns positioning systems with FiRa and Omlox interoperability and safety standards, and builds on IEEE 802.15.4z/4ab UWB, so systems integrate within an allied ecosystem rather than locking into proprietary tooling. The company is also certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO 9001:2015. Defence/aerospace-specific standards such as DO-178C or MIL-STD are not currently part of needCode's evidenced certifications - see the firm directly for programme-specific requirements.

Q: How does UWB positioning work where GPS is jammed or spoofed?

UWB determines position by measuring time-of-flight to fixed anchors rather than receiving satellite signals, so it keeps working where GPS is jammed, spoofed, or simply unavailable, such as indoors or in contested environments. needCode designs the full system - anchor infrastructure, ranging algorithms, and NLOS handling - for resilient location independent of GNSS. Sensor fusion with IMU and complementary sensors maintains position through brief signal degradation.

Q: Can needCode operate as a sovereign, dedicated EU team?

Yes - needCode can operate as a dedicated EU-based embedded team integrated with your programme and under your compliance and data-handling controls. The team-extension model is proven, demonstrated by a 30-engineer centre run for Qorvo with a zero-churn core retained over five years. This places sovereign engineering capacity inside the allied perimeter, scaled to the work.

Q: Does needCode support secure firmware with secure boot and signed updates?

Yes - needCode builds production firmware with secure boot, signed updates, and encrypted data handling designed in from the first generation, using TF-M, PSA Crypto, ARM TrustZone, and mbedTLS. Security is part of the architecture rather than a retrofit after a review. This is the development discipline a programme audit expects.

Q: Does needCode hold DO-178C, MIL-STD or defence-specific certifications?

needCode's evidenced certifications are ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO 9001:2015, and it aligns positioning work with FiRa and Omlox. Defence- and aerospace-specific certifications such as DO-178C or MIL-STD are scoped per programme.

needCode is an EU-based embedded engineering partner for defence, aerospace, and dual-use programmes. Based in Kraków, ISO/IEC 27001 certified, and aligned with EU and NATO requirements, we deliver compliance-sensitive wireless and positioning systems - including GPS-denied UWB location for environments where satellite navigation is jammed, spoofed, or simply unavailable. Sovereign capacity, secure data handling, no non-allied dependencies in the development chain.

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See our defence & aerospace capability

We work with Industry Leaders

For defence programmes, where the work is done matters as much as how it's done

Defence and aerospace programmes increasingly carry requirements that have nothing to do with the technology and everything to do with trust: where your data lives, who touches your IP, whether your supply chain is allied, and how a partner's security posture would survive an audit. An EU/NATO-aligned partner is no longer a preference - for a growing share of programmes it is a gate.

needCode meets that gate from the engineering side. Based in Kraków, ISO/IEC 27001 certified, with secure development practices and no non-allied dependencies, we deliver the wireless and positioning capability defence systems need - most notably GPS-denied UWB location - under the data-handling and compliance terms these programmes require.

Sovereignty

Allied supply chain, EU-resident data, no non-allied dependencies in the development pipeline.

GPS-denied

Where satellite navigation is jammed, spoofed, or unavailable, UWB delivers precise positioning that doesn't depend on the sky.

Compliance

ISO/IEC 27001 information security and secure development — a posture built to survive a programme audit.

Embedded capability for compliance-sensitive programmes

The wireless and positioning systems defence and aerospace programmes rely on - delivered inside the EU, under the data-handling terms the brief demands.

GPS-Denied UWB Positioning

Precise location where satellite navigation is unavailable, jammed, or spoofed. Anchor- and tag-based UWB, NLOS-resilient, aligned to FiRa and Omlox, with centimetre-level static accuracy indoors and in contested environments. The capability defence systems need most when the sky can't be trusted.

Indoor Positioning (RTLS)

Ultra-Wideband

Secure Embedded Firmware

Production firmware with secure boot, signed updates, and encrypted data handling designed in from the first generation - not retrofitted after a security review flags it. The development discipline a programme audit expects to find.

SDK Design & Development

Standards & Certification

Sensor Fusion in Contested Environments

UWB fused with IMU and complementary sensors for robust positioning where any single source can be degraded or denied. Resilience built for environments designed to defeat single-sensor systems.

Sensor Fusion & Navigation

Sovereign R&D Capacity

A dedicated EU-based embedded team operating as an extension of your programme, under your compliance and data-handling requirements. Capacity you can place inside the allied perimeter, scaled to the work.

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Why defence and aerospace programmers choose needCode

EU-based, in Kraków

A NATO-member, EU-resident engineering team. Your development, your data, and your IP stay inside the allied perimeter - a starting requirement for a growing share of programmes, not a nice-to-have.

ISO/IEC 27001 certified

Information-security management certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022, with secure development practices - the posture a programme security review expects to find, not one assembled after the fact.

GPS-denied positioning is our core discipline

As the largest dedicated UWB team in Central Europe and a certified Qorvo partner, precise location without GPS is what we do - the capability defence systems need most in contested or indoor environments.

Standards-aligned (FiRa, Omlox)

Aligned with FiRa and Omlox interoperability and safety standards, so positioning systems integrate with an allied ecosystem rather than locking a programme into proprietary tooling.

Four ways to bring needCode in

From a compliance-aware feasibility study to a standing sovereign team.

We match the engagement to the programme's security and lifecycle requirements.

01 Capability & Compliance Assessment

Duration:
2–4 weeks
Best for:
Validating both technical feasibility and how the engagement meets your data-handling and compliance requirements before committing
Deliverable:
Feasibility assessment, compliance/data-handling review, integration path, leadership readout

02 Secure System Design & Build

Duration:
Phased
Best for:
Taking positioning and firmware to working systems on target hardware, under agreed security controls
Deliverable:
Positioning system, secure firmware, test results, documentation under your controls

03 Productization & Validation

Duration:
Phased
Best for:
Hardening and validating systems for the operational environment
Deliverable:
Production-grade firmware, conformity and validation support, reliability hardening

04 Sovereign Embedded Team

Duration:
Multi-year, retainer-based
Best for:
Programmes that want a dedicated EU-based squad inside their compliance regime
Deliverable:
An embedded engineering team in your cadence and under your controls the model behind the 30-FTE Qorvo programme

What we ship on

We pick the silicon, sensors, and stack that match the system and its environment - under your security requirements.

Positioning

UWB (IEEE 802.15.4z / 4ab)

TDOA

AoA

TWR

FiRa

Omlox

GPS-denied

Silicon

Qorvo QM33 / QM35

Nordic

NXP

STMicroelectronics

Infineon

legacy DW1000 / DW3000

Security & OTA

Secure boot

signed firmware

encrypted data handling

TF-M

PSA Crypto API

ARM TrustZone

mbedTLS

Posture & standards

ISO/IEC 27001:2022

ISO 9001:2015

FiRa

Omlox

RTOS

Zephyr

FreeRTOS

ThreadX

bare metal

Case studies

Proof from the silicon vendors we already serve.

This is the segment needCode was built for - and the deepest proof on the site.

Qorvo: RF Leadership

Context: Rapid scaling for new chipset bring-up.

Scale: Grew from <10 to 30 FTEs.
Output: Supported bring-up of 9 new hardware platforms (SDKs, Drivers, Stacks).
Retention: Zero-churn core team retained for 5+ years.

Dedicated Development Center for RF Solutions

Bluetooth Mesh Smart Lighting Control System

Smart Lighting: Core R&D Extension

Context: Client needed deep, specialized expertise to pivot from proprietary tech to a new global standard.

Service: Deployed a dedicated squad of embedded engineers to function as the client's core R&D team.
Output: Co-authored official Bluetooth SIG protocols and delivered the world’s first certified BLE Mesh stack.
Value: Enabled the client to secure Series A funding and defined the industry standard for smart buildings.

Creative Werks: Innovation rescue

Context: Hardware obsolescence threatened production shutdown.

Action: Full-stack takeover (PCB redesign + Firmware + Mobile App).
ROI: 1230% ($1.6M value generated).
Speed: Payback period of 2–3 months.

NeedCode-case study - IoT Solution for Boat Lift Modernization - cover2s

PowerPollen: AgTech automation

Context: Lack of internal expertise stalled a critical automation project.

Action: Re-architected system using unified MCU and ISOBUS standards.
ROI: 13.8x ($2.9M value generated).
Impact: Enabled $1.9M increase in harvester value.

Strategic Partnership

needCode is an official business partner of Qorvo, bringing over 8 years of proven expertise and trusted service to the technology sector.

Check our performance

Members of the UWB Alliance

In 2025 we became a member of the UWB Alliance. This strategic step reinforces our commitment to pioneering Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology.

Proudly Certified for Excellence and Security

needCode is officially certified for:
ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 – Information Security

ISO certifications reflect our focus on delivering reliable IoT solutions, smart product development, and secure technology services.

Testimonials

“I think the key takeaway from needCode is their ability to adapt and understand the customer's requirements. That took away probably a large portion of what could have been a lot of development time and expense for both companies.”

Bob Folkestad

President at Creative Werks

“One aspect that truly sets needCode apart is its profound expertise in firmware development. Their proficiency in various programming languages, embedded systems and hardware architecture is truly impressive. When faced with difficult problems, their strong problem-solving skills and analytical mindset shine through, allowing them to overcome obstacles with remarkable ease.”

Semeh Sarhan

CEO at Xtrava

“I worked with needCode while leading the NWTN-Berlin team in 2018. A big chunk for our FW development has been outsourced to them and they had proven to iterate very quickly, following specs and deliver on time. It was great working with them. I recommend working with needCode’s team on any Embedded SW development.”

Marco Salvioli Mariani

CTO at NWTN Berlin GmbH

“needCode Team proved to be one of the best engineers I have ever met. The part I like the most about the team is the more difficult an obstacle seems to be, the more motivated they were to find a solution and a way forward.”

Szymon Słupik

CTO at Silvair

“needCode is an outstanding partner. Their quick follow-up, scalability, and extensive professional network set them apart. Their expertise in wireless technologies has been valuable, supporting us from low-level drivers to architecture discussions.”

Tim Allemeersch

Director at Qorvo, Inc.

“needCode did a great job improving the firmware of the Vai Kai connected toys and developing new features, surpassing our expectations multiple times. I would definitely recommend hiring Bartek and needCode for the embedded software projects!”

Matas Petrikas

CEO & Co-founder at Vai Kai UG

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