US Air Force Awards $48 Mn Contract to Advance ML-led Intelligence

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded BAE Systems a $48 million contract to enhance the Insight system– a cutting-edge Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) system designed for advanced exploitation and resource management. 

It employs a range of technologies, including multi-intelligence signal processing, domain analysis with multi-level fusion, predictive analytics, machine learning, and automation, to address current limitations in military intelligence analysis.

“This latest Insight award demonstrates the confidence the government has in BAE Systems’ ability to deliver complex solutions to tough operational and intelligence challenges. This also highlights our collaboration with our FAST Labs research and development organization, and our commitment to developing and eventually transitioning technology,”  Meg Redlin, product line director for Mission Systems at BAE Systems, said.

A major aspect of this initiative centers on developing and integrating airborne applications, such as Resolute Sentry, which delivers real-time multi-domain battlespace awareness in challenging environments.

With this award, BAE Systems will advance components of the Insight system to meet operational needs, enhance integration with both developmental and operational systems, and conduct demonstrations to explore transition opportunities.

Earlier this year, officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., called for the use of artificial intelligence tools for command and control, according to an agency announcement.

By expediting the research and development of innovative AI-based capabilities to bolster Joint All Domain Command and Control (C2), the Department of the Air Force (DAF) aims to gain a strategic decision-making edge.

The Air Force is seeking AI support in several key areas, including command and control optimization for mission-tailored AI; federated, composable autonomy; and AI toolbox development.

Additionally, the agency is exploring advanced wargaming agents, interactive learning for C4I, command and control complexity dominance using generative AI, software-defined distributed command and control, and tactical AI.