Advanced sensor, AI, autonomy contract for troops won by BAE Systems
NewsJune 04, 2020
MERRIMACK, N.H. BAE Systems' FAST Labs research and development organization won a contract worth $3.5 million from Lockheed Martin to provide Mission Intelligence for Tactical Systems (MITS) advanced sensor fusion, artificial intelligence, and autonomy capabilities for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Squad X program.
The goal of DARPA’s Squad X -- made up of the Squad X Experimentation and the completed Squad X Core Technologies programs -- is to design, develop, and validate autonomous system prototypes and equip them with novel sensing tools and off-the-shelf technologies. The aim of the Squad X program is to increase squads’ situational awareness with the assistance of the autonomous systems in increasing their battlespace and area of influence.
The FAST Labs MITS work, according to the companies, fuses sensor data, shares battlefield awareness with its human squadmates, and provides tactical electronic and kinetic support to the squad as it maneuvers and engages enemy positions as it endeavors to inform and assist human decision making in complex, time-critical combat situations. The MITS capability is also able to direct continuous autonomous robotic tasking.
