In national security and defense, air-gapped networks remain the gold standard for protecting mission-critical systems. By physically isolating networks from external connectivity, they're protected against remote intrusion, espionage, and supply chain compromise. For programs that operate under DoD Impact Level 6 (IL6), NATO Secret, GEHEIM, or similar constraints, this isolation is non-negotiable.
But it also creates a paradox: how do you maintain software governance, visibility, and velocity in an environment intentionally cut off from the internet?
The answer lies in precision governance and bringing intelligent, automated software supply chain management inside the air gap. Sonatype Air-Gapped Environment (SAGE) is built precisely for this purpose. It gives classified programs, weapons systems, and operational technology (OT) environments the ability to manage, secure, and accelerate software development with the same rigor as a connected enterprise without ever breaking containment.
Air-gapping reduces external risk, but also limits access to the modern tools that make software development fast and reliable. Teams working in air-gapped environments, whether a secure enclave, SCIF, or a forward-deployed OT site, face three persistent challenges:
Loss of governance: Without access to centralized, cloud-native governance platforms, it's nearly impossible to consistently enforce policies for open source, third-party, and proprietary software. Under mandates like CMMC 2.0, NIS2, and DORA, this lack of control can become a compliance liability.
Lack of visibility: Developers cannot easily identify vulnerabilities or understand dependencies within imported components. This undermines SBOM accuracy, compromises audit trails, and complicates interoperability across coalition partners.
Reduced velocity: Manual, file-based transfer processes for approving and importing software components slow down innovation. Every delay in software deployment can directly affect mission capability, readiness, and sustainment efficiency.
In short, disconnected environments safeguard data but at the cost of governance and agility. Bridging this gap requires a secure, automated solution designed for high-side operations.
SAGE brings intelligent, automated software governance into completely disconnected domains. Specifically designed for classified programs and sovereign cloud environments, SAGE delivers end-to-end supply chain management with no reliance on external connections.
At its core, SAGE enables:
Offline SBOM generation and artifact traceability: Automatically build, maintain, and export SBOMs within disconnected environments, enabling transparency and audit readiness even without internet access.
Automated policy enforcement in isolated pipelines: Enforce security, quality, and licensing rules automatically, ensuring every component meets policy before being approved for use.
Controlled component curation: Establish pre-scanned, pre-approved repositories of open source artifacts, ensuring that only trusted components cross the air gap.
Continuous Compliance Alignment: Maintain conformity with evolving global mandates and standards, including NIST SSDF, EO 14028, the EU's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001, and Japan's METI Cybersecurity Guidelines.
This architecture provides the foundation for continuous authority to operate (cATO) in even the most constrained environments.
In traditional connected environments, governance tools operate as cloud services. SAGE reverses that model. Security and license policies are defined centrally, by an accredited authority within the organization, and deployed directly inside the air-gapped perimeter. This ensures consistent governance regardless of network connectivity.
Whether deployed on U.S. classified networks like JWICS, NATO Secret environments, or sovereign defense clouds such as JWCC, MODCloud, or BwCloud, SAGE enforces the same governance guardrails the same way, every time. From connected coalition missions to fully air-gapped installations, it ensures consistent policy enforcement and software supply-chain control, regardless of network or nation.
SAGE creates a private, curated repository of pre-vetted, policy-compliant components, forming a single source of truth for developers inside the secure domain. This repository provides full transparency into the software supply chain, enabling accurate SBOM generation and eliminating unknown dependencies.
Developers can work confidently, knowing that every library, container, or binary they use has been scanned, validated, and approved according to DoD and NIST standards before it crosses the air gap.
Disconnected doesn't have to mean slow. By embedding automated policy checks at every stage of the offline build lifecycle, SAGE eliminates manual review bottlenecks. Developers can focus on mission-critical code while the system continuously enforces compliance.
This automation is key to reconciling agile development with air-gapped compliance. It supports rapid iteration without sacrificing accreditation discipline, a vital enabler for programs pursuing both DevSecOps and continuous ATO.
Sonatype's air-gapped environment delivers consistent, compliant software governance across the entire spectrum of critical mission domains:
Classified programs: Enable secure development and testing for programs where connectivity is strictly prohibited.
Defense and aerospace systems: Maintain software integrity and version control across NATO and allied defense ecosystems.
Operational technology (OT): Deliver secure updates and patches to industrial and infrastructure systems without exposing them to the internet.
Sovereign cloud initiatives: Support national data residency and cybersecurity mandates with compliant, disconnected DevSecOps pipelines.
From defense command centers to energy grids, SAGE ensures that critical systems remain both isolated and agile.
In disconnected environments, maintaining cATO is uniquely challenging. Ongoing visibility, auditability, and policy enforcement must occur without external monitoring or updates. SAGE is purpose-built to meet that challenge.
Evidence generation: Offline SBOM and artifact traceability provide immutable evidence for continuous monitoring and authorization decisions.
Policy compliance: Automated, local enforcement of NIST and DoD security controls ensures a continuously compliant posture, independent of cloud connectivity.
Risk reduction: By curating and vetting components before they enter the air gap, SAGE minimizes baseline risk, streamlining the path to ATO approval and renewal.
Sonatype has spent over a decade helping federal and defense organizations manage software supply chain risk. From compliance alignment with EO 14028 to integration with DoD DevSecOps frameworks, including Platform One and Iron Bank, Sonatype's solutions are proven across the federal ecosystem.
With SAGE, that same intelligence now operates inside the air gap, bringing precision governance, real-time visibility, and automated compliance to even the most restricted networks. Air-gapped environments remain a critical safeguard for national security. But with Sonatype, they no longer require a trade-off between protection and progress. SAGE resolves the air-gap paradox so agencies can innovate securely, accelerate accreditation, and deliver trusted software at mission speed.