DARPA has selected BAE Systems to develop software to enable semi-autonomous multi-domain mission planning, the company said Monday.
Under the deal, valued at $3.1 million, BAE Systems’ Fast Labs research and development team will design the Multi-Domain Adaptive Request Service (MARS) software to assist military operators by automatically identifying ideal operational response options.
“Multi-domain mission planning is complex because it involves a tremendous amount of distributed variables such as domains, systems, resources, and manned and unmanned platforms,” Chris Eisenbies, product line director for BAE Systems’ autonomy, controls, and estimation group, said in a statement. “Our hope is that MARS will provide warfighters with the ability to automatically leverage the resources they need and quickly determine the most effective way to accomplish their mission no matter what type of battlespace they are operating in.”
DARPA’s Adapting Cross-Domain Kill-Webs program looks to find new tools to move users away from manual process to assess response options and coordinate sensors, communications capabilities and weapons across domains.
“MARS aims to help operators make informed decisions by automatically identifying available capabilities across domains, and then rapidly assessing the costs and benefits to use those capabilities when adjusting mission tasks,” BAE Systems wrote in a statement. The software also includes a visual interface that will allow the exploration of available asset options, helping operators arrive at the best course of action to deliver the desired effect on targets.”
BAE Systems said its Fast Labs team is working with Carnegie Mellon University to develop the MARS software.