The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems a Phase 3 contract worth $3.1 million to continue developing autonomy software to improve the resiliency of air mission planning for the military.
The program, called Resilient Synchronized Planning and Assessment for the Contested Environment (RSPACE), seeks to develop human-centered software decision aids that can assist air operators to better control daily operations in a complex battlespace.
In response to this need, and as part of the RSPACE program, BAE Systems created autonomy software called the Distributed, Interactive, Command-and-Control Tool (DIRECT) to improve air battlespace awareness. Using assessment analytics, the software provides an easy-to-use, visual interface to generate real-time alerts so operators can evaluate areas of concern during the planning and execution of a mission.
The software also automatically adjusts to minimize bandwidth when communications are limited and unreliable to assist in mission continuity and completion. Doing the work are engineers at the BAE Systems Advanced Information Technologies segment in Burlington, Mass.