Air-Gapped Storage for Defense Contractors

Air-Gapped Storage
for Defense Contractors

The only air-gapped sovereign storage platform built by a Michigan manufacturer, 5 miles from TACOM. No foreign cloud. No third-party data processors. Michigan hardware under Michigan law — designed from day one for defense supply chain data sovereignty.

Not “encrypted cloud.” Actually air-gapped.

The term “air-gapped” is used loosely in commercial cloud marketing. An “air-gapped backup” from AWS or Azure means your data is in a separate cloud region with restricted access — it is still on a network, still subject to foreign law, still processed by a third party.

True air-gap means no network path to the outside world. Physical isolation. The storage hardware is not reachable from the internet because it is not on a route that connects to it.

RigidVault’s Sovereign Node deployment gives defense contractors exactly this: a RAID-redundant NAS on your premises (or in our Michigan facility) with no internet-facing interface. Data moves in via controlled ingest. It does not move out except through authenticated, logged, deliberate action.

Why this matters for defense contractors specifically

DFARS 252.204-7012 requires adequate security for covered defense information — air-gap is the strongest architectural control available
CUI handling is significantly simplified when the storage architecture has no external network boundary to protect
Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) concerns are eliminated when hardware is owned by a Michigan LLC with no foreign beneficial ownership
Incident response is simplified when there is no network to monitor for lateral movement — the attack surface for network-based intrusion is zero
Audit evidence for CMMC assessors is cleaner when SC-7 (Boundary Protection) is addressed at the architecture level rather than through firewall rule documentation

Cloud-hosted to fully sovereign. Your choice.

Option 1

Michigan-Hosted Cloud Node

Data lives in our Michigan facility on hardware we own and operate. Michigan law governs. No foreign cloud. No third-party processors. You access via encrypted authenticated connection. Starting $49/mo.

Option 2 — Most Common for Defense

Sovereign Node — On-Premises

NAS hardware deployed in your facility. You own it physically. RAID-redundant, encrypted at rest. We provide the platform, you control the iron. Truly air-gapped when you choose. We monitor remotely via encrypted tunnel if desired. Priced by hardware configuration.

Option 3 — Maximum Sovereignty

Full Sovereign — RigidNode + RigidVault

Jetson-based compute node plus NAS, both on your premises. Full AI inference local. Zero external calls. No monitoring from KI unless you explicitly request it. Your facility, your hardware, your air-gap. Contact for configuration and pricing.

Which controls air-gapped storage addresses.

SC-7 — Boundary Protection

No external network path = no boundary to protect. Physical isolation eliminates the attack surface that SC-7 controls are designed to manage.

SC-8 — Transmission Confidentiality

Data that never traverses a network cannot be intercepted. The transmission confidentiality requirement for air-gapped data becomes trivially satisfied.

SA-9 — External System Services

Zero foreign cloud = zero third-party processors handling your CUI. SA-9’s third-party risk scope shrinks to near zero.

SC-28 — Protection at Rest

RAID-redundant encrypted-at-rest storage under Michigan jurisdiction. AES-256 at rest. Physical and logical access controls documented.

MP-6 — Media Sanitization

You control the physical hardware. No decommissioned cloud VMs to worry about. Physical drive destruction with documented chain of custody.

AU-2 — Audit Events

RigidVault logs all access events with cryptographic timestamps. Every file access, every login, every change — immutable audit trail stored locally.

Air-gapped storage for defense — answered.

Is “air-gapped” the same as “encrypted cloud”?+

No. Encrypted cloud means your data is encrypted in transit and at rest on a server you do not own, operated by a company subject to law you may not control. Air-gap means no network path to the outside world — the storage is physically isolated. RigidVault’s Sovereign Node option is genuinely air-gappable: the NAS operates on your premises LAN with no internet-facing interface.

Can I store CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) in RigidVault?+

RigidVault’s architecture is designed for CUI-adjacent environments. Formal CUI authorization requires completing your CMMC Level 2 assessment and System Security Plan. The sovereign hardware layer — Michigan jurisdiction, no foreign cloud, air-gapped option — satisfies several of the hardest architectural requirements for CUI handling. Contact us to discuss your specific CUI categories and requirements.

What jurisdiction governs my data in RigidVault?+

Michigan, United States. Kavanagh Industries LLC is a Michigan LLC. All hardware is physically located in Michigan. All operations are subject to Michigan and US federal law. There is no foreign beneficial ownership, no foreign data processing, and no foreign-law data access pathway. This is documented and available for your compliance officer or contracting officer on request.

Do you have a CAGE code or SAM.gov registration?+

SAM.gov registration and CAGE code assignment are in progress as of Q2 2026. EIN documentation, Michigan LLC registration, and a letter of intent for procurement conversations are available immediately. Contact us for current registration status and supporting documentation.

Will you sign an NDA before a technical discussion?+

Yes, immediately. A mutual NDA is standard on any defense engagement — executed before any technical discussion of your systems, data types, or requirements. We treat every defense inquiry as confidential from first contact.

Air-Gapped Storagefor Defense Contractors