How Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Will Make ISR Faster

The Multi-Spectral Targeting System is a turreted electro-optical and infrared sensor used in maritime and overland intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Raytheon Intelligence and Space is integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning across ISR capabilities to help warfighters make decisions faster with reduced workload. (Raytheon Technologies photo illustration created by Grant Parsley)

If a swarm of heavily armed fast boats barreled full speed at an aircraft carrier, the crew would have very little time to react.

But if that crew had artificial intelligence and machine learning at its disposal, that blitz of boats probably wouldn’t pose nearly as much of a problem.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space, one of four businesses that form Raytheon Technologies, is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the U.S. and allied armed forces. The approach is to synthesize reams of data into actionable intelligence and accurate targeting information at speed and scale, in high-risk environments.

“In multi-domain operations, you don’t have full domain superiority but have to exploit what they call moments of superiority in the battlefield,” said Jim Wright, RI&S’ technical director for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems. “Speed is a big issue in this defense strategy, which is challenged by huge amounts of data and a limited number of people to look at it.”

A military customer once told Wright the armed services collect 22 football seasons’ worth of video every day. That’s far too much to sift through manually – especially when operators have to make critical decisions quickly, such as protecting ships in crowded sea lanes.

“We’re looking at how machine learning can augment our existing sensor product lines and the question is: ‘How can we utilize machine learning technology to help military commanders make decisions?’” said Shane Zabel, AI Technology Area director for RI&S. “How do we embed some kind of learning machine to go with the sensors to help better execute the mission?”

Traditionally, operators have control sensors and analyzed data much like you’d think they would – by keeping their eyes locked on screens, pressing buttons and using joysticks to move things around. RI&S is using military and commercial advancements in technology to automate those functions.

“AI/ML is at the core of our technology roadmap across Raytheon Intelligence & Space,” said Barbara Borgonovi, vice president of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems at RI&S. “We are implementing AI/ML into next-generation ISR capabilities so operators can rapidly make the right decisions in any threat environment.”

The business is also developing smart software called Cognitive Aids to Sensor Processing, Exploitation and Response (CASPERTM), to lighten the operator’s workload and use automation to help make decisions faster.

The aids interpret operator requests, then control sensor and data processing functions. They are being integrated into products like the Multi-Spectral Targeting System, which provides visible and infrared intelligence and targeting information for an array of airborne platforms.

CASPER allows operators to work above the drudgery of data processing and instead focus on decision making, resulting in exponentially faster threat response.

Take the fast boat scenario, for example.

“Much like talking to Alexa or Siri, an operator tells CASPER to scan for fast boats and prioritize by threat to the carrier,” Wright said. “CASPER then takes control of sensor functions, rapidly identifies which boats are threats based on things like their appearance and behavior over space and time, and provides the operator with the threat list and recommended courses of action.

“This enables the operator to focus attention on ensuring recommendations are correct and consistent with policy, making the whole process shorter and safer,” he said.

RI&S is developing advanced automation capabilities for ground station systems, and is advancing these capabilities to the leading edge of the sensor grid.

There are thousands of systems and sensors in today’s battlespace. Automation will also help deliver the right data at the right time to make decisions faster through another transformative solution – Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). JADC2 is a future command and control network that will link capabilities and military platforms across the globe in all domains – air, land, sea, cyber and space.

“Machine learning has really taken off,” Zabel said. “It’s all about harnessing the speed potential AI and ML offer.”

Learn more about Raytheon Intelligence & Space’s Decision Superiority solutions here.

Published at Mon, 14 Sep 2020 20:26:15 +0000

New Storage and Processing Blades Accelerate Decision-Making for Big Data, 5G …

ANDOVER, Mass., Sept. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mercury Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY, www.mrcy.com), a leader in trusted, secure mission-critical technologies for aerospace and defense, today announced the new HDC-U.2 High Density Compute and HDS8R storage blades, uniquely combining both storage and compute capabilities into single-blade Enterprise & Datacenter SSD Form Factors (EDSFF) so customers can minimize their overall computing footprint without sacrificing storage capacity or computing speed.

The new blades expand Mercury’s flagship rugged RES HD blade server platform with up to eight high-capacity solid-state drives and two Intel^® Xeon^® server-class processors in a single slot and feature optional hardware and software protection to safeguard critical IP. Utilizing a single blade type, customers can keep pace with compute-intensive applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and sensor fusion and accelerate decision-making by capturing, storing and analyzing data onboard the platform in real time that would have otherwise been discarded or sent to the cloud for processing.

“The growth of big data, 5G networks and AI continues to increase compute and data storage demands on edge systems,” said Scott Orton, vice president and general manager, Edge. “IT administrators and systems architects are constantly juggling trade-offs between storage capacity, bandwidth, latency and cost to stay ahead of the technology refresh curve. Our new scalable HDC-U.2 and HDS8R blades provide the ideal balance of these features, supporting next-generation PCI express speeds while maximizing serviceability, storage and compute capabilities, all while delivering significant cost savings. Through these types of innovations, we’re making technology profoundly more accessible to aerospace and defense.”

Mercury is accelerating innovation for its customers as the Company bridges the gap between commercial technology and defense applications to meet the industry’s current and emerging needs. To learn more, visit mrcy.com/bladeservers or contact Mercury at (866) 627-6951 or info@mrcy.com.

Mercury Systems – Innovation That Matters^®
Mercury Systems is the leader in making trusted, secure mission-critical technologies profoundly more accessible to the aerospace and defense industries. Optimized for customer and mission success, our innovative solutions power more than 300 critical aerospace and defense programs. Headquartered in Andover, Mass., and with manufacturing and design facilities around the world, Mercury specializes in engineering, adapting and manufacturing new solutions purpose-built to meet the industry’s current and emerging high-tech needs. Our employees are committed to Innovation that Matters^®. To learn more, visit mrcy.com, or follow us on Twitter.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those relating to the acquisitions described herein and to fiscal 2021 business performance and beyond and the Company’s plans for growth and improvement in profitability and cash flow. You can identify these statements by the use of the words “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “continue,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “likely,” “forecast,” “probable,” “potential,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, continued funding of defense programs, the timing and amounts of such funding, general economic and business conditions, including unforeseen weakness in the Company’s markets, effects of epidemics and pandemics such as COVID, effects of any U.S. federal government shutdown or extended continuing resolution, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, changes in, or in the U.S. Government’s interpretation of, federal export control or procurement rules and regulations, market acceptance of the Company’s products, shortages in components, production delays or unanticipated expenses due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, inability to fully realize the expected benefits from acquisitions and restructurings, or delays in realizing such benefits, challenges in integrating acquired businesses and achieving anticipated synergies, increases in interest rates, changes to industrial security and cyber-security regulations and requirements, changes in tax rates or tax regulations, changes to interest rate swaps or other cash flow hedging arrangements, changes to generally accepted accounting principles, difficulties in retaining key employees and customers, unanticipated costs under fixed-price service and system integration engagements, and various other factors beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties also include such additional risk factors as are discussed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 3, 2020. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made.

Contact:
Robert McGrail, Director of Corporate Communications
Mercury Systems, Inc.
+1 978-967-1366 / rmcgrail@mrcy.com

Mercury Systems and Innovation That Matters are registered trademarks of Mercury Systems, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/68320ddc-8e16-4d2e-a32e-527df75a9079

Published at Mon, 14 Sep 2020 20:15:00 +0000