US: Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been awarded with Phase 2 system integration contracts of the DARPA’s Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) programme. The CODE programmes aim to reduce the necessary communication bandwidth and the cognitive burden on supervisors.
The programmes will help US military UAVs to conduct long-distance, dynamic engagements of mobile maritime and ground targets in contested or denied electromagnetic airspace.
Besides awarding Phase 2 system integration contracts, DARPA has also selected six companies that had Phase 1 contracts to collaborate with the two prime contractors. These six companies are: Vencore Labs, SRI International, Soar Technology, Smart Information Flow Technologies, Scientific Systems Company and Daniel H. Wagner Associates.
If it succeeds, the UAVs equipped with CODE will be able to share data, negotiate assignments and synchronise communications and actions among team members and with a single human mission commander according to the agency.
The modular open software architecture of CODE will enable multiple CODE-equipped UAVs to navigate to their destinations and find, identify and track and engage targets. The UAVs could also add other friendly CODE-equipped UAVs to augment their capabilities.
The prototype human-system interface (HSI) of CODE is designed for a single person to visualise, supervise and command a UAV team. Mission commanders can track their team status and tactical situation, see pre-planned and alternative scenarios, and alter UAV activities in real-time.
Jean-Charles Ledé, program manager, DARPA, said: ‘During Phase 1, we successfully demonstrated, in simulation, the potential value of collaborative autonomy among UAVs at the tactical edge, and worked with our performers to draft transition plans for possible future operational systems.
Source: Shephard Media
