The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), who was recognized in the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, has awarded BAE Systems a Phase 3 contract worth $3.1 million to continue developing autonomy software to improve the resiliency of air mission planning for the military.

The program, called Resilient Synchronized Planning and Assessment for the Contested Environment (RSPACE), seeks to create a revolutionary distributed planning capability to provide resilient command and control (C2) and to manage complex military operations even when communications are limited and unreliable.

RSPACE is developing human-centered software decision aids that, based on the commander’s intent, will help operators throughout the C2 enterprise control daily operations in a complex battlespace – composing mission packages (coordinating across the network as needed), responding to emerging opportunities, and assessing progress towards achieving the commander’s intent.

RSPACE is focused on the operational level of the air operations domain.

The U.S. military has evolved over the years to a highly centralized architecture for operational-level C2 of air operations.

This has resulted in a heavy reliance on robust, high-bandwidth communications, which are subject to disruption. Distributed planning provides a leap ahead in resilience for C2, supporting control throughout the architecture that adapts to the changing state of the network.

The challenge for RSPACE is to develop tools that enable coordination in the face of disrupted communications and high levels of uncertainty.

A complementary challenge for RSPACE is to provide automation support to help operators at heterogeneous C2 nodes (e.g., a wing, a carrier battle group, or a control and reporting center) manage the complexity of C2 in an uncertain battlespace.

Finally, RSPACE seeks to develop tools that optimize the respective roles of people and machines – with people providing insight and creativity while machines track details and apply such strengths as quickly comparing and measuring options.

In response to this need, and as part of the RSPACE program, BAE Systems created software called the Distributed, Interactive, Command-and-Control Tool (DIRECT) to improve air battlespace awareness.

Using assessment analytics, the software provides an easy-to-use, visual interface to generate real-time alerts so operators can evaluate areas of concern during the planning and execution of a mission.

The software also automatically adjusts to minimize bandwidth when communications are limited and unreliable to assist in mission continuity and completion.

“New users have found DIRECT easy to learn, indicating we are well on our way to providing a software decision aid that will help planners adapt to plan changes, make real-time decisions faster, and more effectively execute their missions,” said Chris Eisenbies, product line director of the Autonomy, Controls, and Estimation group at BAE Systems.

Created by the research and development team at BAE Systems, DIRECT is part of the company’s autonomy technology portfolio.

Work for the RSPACE program is being performed at the company’s facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Arlington, Virginia.

The program also includes teammate Uncharted Software Inc.

DARPA Takes Platinum in the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – DARPA

• ‘Excellence in Homeland Security’

• Subterranean (SubT) Challenge

(Learn More. Underground settings are becoming increasingly relevant to global security and safety. Rising populations and urbanization are requiring military and civilian first responders to perform their duties below ground in human-made tunnels, underground urban spaces, and natural cave networks. Recognizing that innovative, enhanced technologies could accelerate development of critical lifesaving capabilities, DARPA today announced its newest Grand Challenge: the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, or SubT for short. Courtesy of DARPAtv and YouTube. Posted on Dec 21, 2017.)

The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit and intelligence to end users in a variety of government, homeland security and public safety vertical markets.

Over 130 distinguished guests representing National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Firms, gathered from across North America, Europe and the Middle East to be honored among their peers in their respective fields which included:

• The Department of Homeland Security
• The Federal Protective Service (FPS)
• Argonne National Laboratory
• The Department of Homeland Security
• The Department of Justice
• The Security Exchange Commission Office of Personnel Management
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• Viasat, Hanwha Techwin, Lenel, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Verint, Canon U.S.A., BriefCam, Pivot3, Milestone Systems, Allied Universal, Ameristar Perimeter Security and More!

The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program highlighting the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today, to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.

The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program was Proudly Sponsored by ATI Systems, Attivo Networks, Automatic Systems, Desktop Alert, and Royal Holdings Technologies.

Early Bird Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland SecurityAwards at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.

Comprehensive List of Categories Include:

Don’t see a Direct Hit for your Product, Agency or Organization?

Submit your category recommendation for consideration to Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at: mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

2018 Champions Edition

See the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Champions Edition – ‘Best Products of 2018 ‘ Year in Review’ for in-depth coverage of the outstanding products and services of firms receiving American Security Today’s 2018‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards.’

Enter Early to Maximize Media Coverage of your Products and Services at Kickoff, and Get the Recognition Your Organization Deserves!

And be sure to Register Early for the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon at ISC East 2019 to ensure your place at this limited- space event!

Why the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program?

American Security Today’s comprehensive Annual Homeland Security Awards Program is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of physical, IT, port security, law enforcement, and first responders, in acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’

Why American Security Today?

American Security Today is uniquely focused on the broader Homeland Security & Public Safety marketplace with over 70,000 readers at the Federal, State and local levels of government as well as firms allied to government.

The old traditional security marketplace has been covered by a host of security publications that have changed little over many years.

American Security Today brings forward a fresh compelling look and read with our customized digital publications that provides our readers with solutions to their challenges.

Our Editorial staff provides a full plate of topics for our AST monthly digital editions, AST Website and AST Daily News Alerts.

The editorial calendar and AST’s high drawing website features 23 different Technology and Marketing Sectors such as Access Control, Perimeter Protection, Video Surveillance/Analytics, Airport Security, Border Security, CBRNE Detection, Border Security, Ports, Cybersecurity, Networking Security, Encryption, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Campus Security, Security Services, Corporate Facilities and Emergency Response among others.

These sectors are part of the new integration, where these major applications communicate with one another in a variety of solutions to protect our cities and critical infrastructure.

AST has Expanded readership into vital Critical Infrastructure audiences such as Protection of Nuclear Facilities, Water Plants & Dams, Bridges & Tunnels, and other Potential targets of terrorism.

Other areas of concern include Transportation Hubs, Public Assemblies, Government Facilities, Sporting & Concert Stadiums, our Nation’s Schools & Universities, and Commercial Business Destinations – enticing targets for extremist or lone wolf attacks due to the large number of persons and resources clustered together.

For sixty years, DARPA has held to a singular and enduring mission: to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security.

Working with innovators inside and outside of government, DARPA has repeatedly delivered on that mission, transforming revolutionary concepts and even seeming impossibilities into practical capabilities.

The ultimate results have included not only game-changing military capabilities such as precision weapons and stealth technology, but also such icons of modern civilian society such as the Internet, automated voice recognition and language translation, and Global Positioning System receivers small enough to embed in myriad consumer devices.

DARPA explicitly reaches for transformational change instead of incremental advances. But it does not perform its engineering alchemy in isolation.

It works within an innovation ecosystem that includes academic, corporate and governmental partners, with a constant focus on the Nation’s military Services, which work with DARPA to create new strategic opportunities and novel tactical options.

For decades, this vibrant, interlocking ecosystem of diverse collaborators has proven to be a nurturing environment for the intense creativity that DARPA is designed to cultivate.