Edge data center firm Armada has deployed one of its containerized modules to an airbase in North Dakota.

Armada this week announced that it has deployed one of its 40ft (12.1 meters) Triton containerized data centers to GrandSky, a drone-focused operations center at Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks.

“Customers can now process sensor and aircraft data locally, deploy AI and machine learning applications, generate actionable insights in real time, and transmit only mission-critical information back to the cloud,” GrandSky said. “For GrandSky, Triton connects aircraft, sensors, communications, compute, and mission data within one operational environment. Customers can come here not only to fly and evaluate systems, but also to process data, run AI applications, integrate technologies, and demonstrate complete mission workflows under real-world conditions.”

The launch event was attended by US Senator Kevin Cramer (Republican, North Dakota).

Located on Grand Forks Air Force Base and launched in 2015, GrandSky is the United States'​ first commercial UAS Flight Operations Center, R&D park, and UAS testing location.

Grand Forks-based EdgeData LLC signed a Letter of Intent to construct a 16,000 sq ft (1,486 sqm), 1MW data center at Grand Sky in 2026 to offer data storage for tenants at the park.

Founded in 2023, Armada's Galleon line comprises portable, modular, and ruggedized data centers of various sizes and capacities that come as a turnkey offering. The Triton model offers five racks of compute within a 40 ft container.

“The AI race isn’t even a once-in-a-generation race, it’s a once-in-forever race. To win, we have to build and deploy AI infrastructure ahead of demand. That’s why today we brought Triton, our 40-foot Galleon, to GrandSKY, at Grand Forks, North Dakota,” said Armada co-founder and COO Jon Runyan.

Armada has or is set to deploy modules with Nscale, UnityCloud, TampNet, Aramco, Newlab, Eclipse, the US Navy, and Alaska's Department of Transportation & Public Facilities.

Investors in Armada include Microsoft, BlackRock, Johnson Controls, and others.