ARCANE BQM-177A Autonomous AI Demonstration

Project Number:

N00019-24-9-0020

Name of Company:

Shield AI, Inc.

Award Amount:

$11,000,000.00

Description:

The Naval ARchitecture and Capabilities for Autonomy in the Naval Enterprise (ARCANE) Program seeks a Lead System Integrator (LSI) to develop and demonstrate prototype Autonomous and AI software capabilities on the Kratos BQM-177A, a Sub-Sonic Aerial Target (SSAT) developed for the U.S. Navy. The BQM-177A unmanned target aircraft provides a high-subsonic, sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missile threat emulation for naval training and exercises, however, it lacks modern independent autonomy capabilities. Improving the BQM-177A autonomous and AI capabilities will provide advanced training scenarios to maintain superior Navy Fleet lethality in future theaters of operations, and ensures our military remains at the cutting edge of AI-driven warfare technology.

Progress:

09/22/23: Request for White Papers Released
10/20/23: White Papers Due
03/08/24: Solution Selected
05/16/24: Request for Proposal Released
06/16/24: Proposal Submitted
08/16/24: Awarded