Wednesday, March 27, 2024

BAE System to develop autonomy capabilities for U.S. Army’s FVL initiative

The U.S. Army has awarded the American company BAE Systems with multiple contracts to develop key technologies for the Advanced Teaming Demonstration Program (A-Team). As a part of the program, the company will develop advance manned and unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities that are expected to be critical components in the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program.

The U.S. Army developed the A-Team program to create an automated system to offload the cognitive burden of pilots while enabling them to command swarms of unmanned aircraft. In this case, we are talking not only about the exchange of intelligence data but also about the control over the device at all stages of the flight, including take-off and landing.

In addition, MUM-T assumes that drones will be able to operate in fully automatic mode, performing certain tasks in tandem with a manned helicopter. Finally, helicopter crews will be able to interact with unmanned aerial vehicles at the level of a simple task setting; the drones will have to search for solutions on their own.

Our mature autonomy technology, which is the basis of our offering for the A-Team program, will greatly increase the warfighter’s ability to have a complete view of the battlespace and streamline decision making,” said Chris Eisenbies, product line director of the Autonomy, Control, and Estimation group at BAE Systems’ FAST Labs. “Future conflicts will include manned and unmanned teaming and increased automation in highly contested environments, helping to enable mission success.”

As part of a $9 million deal with the U.S. Army, BAE Systems will be required to develop the Human Machine Interface, Platform Resource Capability Management, and Situational Awareness Management elements of the program. All work will be carried out at BAE Systems’ facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California.