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Shield AI has now flown its Hivemind autonomy pilot software on 11 aircraft, adding target drones built by Airbus and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions [KTOS] to the mix of aircraft it has successfully conducted flight demonstrations with, the company said this week.
The startup on Tuesday said it conducted a successful autonomous flight demonstration with an Airbus Defence and Space DT25 group three aerial drone in Norway for a counter-unmanned aircraft system application. The integration of Hivemind with the medium-speed DT25 was done within three months and the test showcased the drone autonomously tracking and adversary aircraft in permissive and degraded environments, Shield said.
On Monday, Shield said that in August it completed a successful flight of Hivemind integrated onto a Kratos BQM-177A drone, a demonstration the company said “marked a major milestone toward the U.S. Navy’s first beyond visual range autonomy mission on a fast-moving platform.”
Shield in March 2024 said it received a contract from the Navy to integrate Hivemind onto the BQM-177A high-speed aerial target drone that is used to emulate cruise missile threats against ships (Defense Daily, March 12, 2024). The work for the Navy is being done under the Experimental Platform for Intelligent Combat project to inform potential manned-unmanned team concepts for efforts such as the service’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
The recent test at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif., with the Naval Air Systems Command’s Strike Planning and Execution Program and Aerial Targets Program was another “step toward implementing Autonomy Government Reference Architecture-compliant interfaces,” which Shield AI said is the Defense Department’s framework to bolster interoperability across autonomous military platforms.
The recent test also “demonstrated successful control handoff, onboard system communication, and integration with Kratos’ updated Advanced Vehicle Control Laws, following flight clearance through the Navy’s rigorous safety and airworthiness process,” Shield said.
Shield AI was responsible for Hivemind and the integration with the BQM-177A. Kratos provided software updates and payload integration. CTSi, which was also part of the team, developed the mission planning and control interface to enable operator interaction within a live-virtual-constructive environment,” Shield said.
