WASHINGTON — The Army is on the hunt for artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to help the service manage increasingly complex airspace as it prepares to execute its Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) initiative.
In a request for information published Wednesday, the service announced that its Program Executive Office of Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S) along with its NGC2 program manager are looking for specific AI/ML capabilities to help reduce the “cognitive burden” on commanders in the wake of an expected dramatic influx of aerial systems.
“As the Army continues to integrate advanced technologies and expand its use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), rotary wing, fixed-wing, and emerging platforms, traditional airspace management methods are being challenged by the growing scale, speed, and complexity of operations,” the RFI says. “AI-enabled airspace management solutions have the potential to address these challenges by leveraging machine learning, predictive analytics, and automation to enhance situational awareness, optimize airspace allocation, and enable rapid decision-making.”
Specifics on what AI/ML capabilities the Army is seeking include real-time detection and resolution, integration of UAS and loitering munitions, predictive analytics, EW jamming tools, and strategies capable of reducing environmental impact.
The request for information describes two “objectives,” one short-term “fight tonight” capability based on tech that’s already available, and a longer-term “vision” for “scalable and adaptive management.”
Interested vendors must reply to the solicitation by Aug. 29.
Also part of the solicitation, the Army is looking for vendors to deliver minimum viable products (MVP) for the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center exercise in the fall with the service’s 25th Infantry Division. Industry partners looking to participate must have their MVP ready for deployment by November of this year.
The 25th ID’s participation with NGC2 comes after the 4th ID, located in Colorado, was designated as the primary experimental unit for NGC2. NGC2 is the service’s plan to combine intelligence, C2 and fires all in one system so commanders can have information more readily available − much like the Pentagon broader, sprawling Combine Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) effort.
The Army hasn’t revealed much about who it plans to involve for NGC2, but earlier this month the service awarded the first prototype Other Transaction Authority award for the initiative to Team Anduril, which consists of Anduril, Palantir, Striveworks, Govini, Instant Connect Enterprise, Research Innovations, Inc. and Microsoft.
Other industry teams are expected to be announced in coming months, as former head of the Army’s PEO of Command, Control, Communications and Network, Mark Kitz, told Breaking Defense in December there would not be one lead on the initiative but a “team of teams” approach. Kitz is now working as the vice president of strategy and growth at Anduril, according to his LinkedIn page.
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Author: Carley Welch
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