California-based EpiSys Science, Inc.‘s (EpiSci) collaborative autonomy linking networked weapons was the “best in class” during the Golden Horde Colosseum demonstration, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) said in its fiscal 2023 annual report this month.
Golden Horde began in 2020 as an Air Force Vanguard program under Air Force Research Laboratory, but moved to virtual, competitive Colosseum testing in September 2021 with a view to fielding swarms of networked, collaborative, semi-autonomous weapons operating from a “playbook” with Rules of Engagement (Defense Daily, May 27, 2021).
Lockheed Martin [LMT], L3Harris [LHX], Autonodyne, EpiSci, Shield AI, Systems & Technology Research and Georgia Tech Research Institute competed as “gladiators” in the Colosseum.
The six competitors “were tasked with demonstrating survivability and target destruction rates in combat scenarios with evolving complexity,” DIU said in its fiscal 2023 annual report. “During this 12-month prototype, four Colosseum events were held, with EpiSci emerging as the best-in-class commercial solution for collaborative AI in networked weapons.”
“EpiSci’s performance in the Colosseum led to a post-prototype contract with the AFRL to continue to refine the AI and ML [machine learning] algorithms for eventual fielding,” the report said. “With EpiSci’s Tactical AI and broader networked weapon systems development, DIU is not only strengthening the Air Force’s resilience in contested environments, but also enhancing its combat capabilities.”