Navy eyes software models to help with transferring decision making from humans to uncrewed vehicles

March 22, 2022
Systems Planning and Analysis experts will model the battlespace to exercises tactical elements to stress transfer of tactical control decision-making.

NEWPORT, R.I. – U.S. Navy undersea warfare experts needed a company to model potential underwater battlefields to help practice the transfer of human decision making to automated systems that control uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs). They found their solution from Systems Planning and Analysis Inc. in Alexandria, Va.

Officials of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, R.I., announced plans Friday to award a sole-source contract to Systems Planning and Analysis to design a prototype decision authority delegation software models.

Systems Planning and Analysis experts will expand a virtual model of the battlespace that exercises a wide range of operational and tactical elements to stress transfer of tactical control decision-making. The value of the upcoming contract has yet to be negotiated.

Related: AI to help unmanned vehicles adapt to changing conditions

These kinds of models are important for Navy researchers to continue with software design for transferring tactical control from humans to uncrewed vehicles in tactical decision aids.

These models will help Navy experts exercise varied mission priorities, commander’s intent, and rules of engagement that help commanders set priorities for deploying uncrewed systems from distributed control stations.

For this project Navy experts particularly are interested in including more sophisticated decisions than those used in previous decision authority delegation tests.

Related: Unmanned submarines seen as key to dominating the world’s oceans

Systems Planning and Analysis is the only source with the expertise and experience necessary to do this job quickly enough to keep up with Navy planning. The company is the performer on the NUWC Decision Authority Delegation project's first phase from August to December 2020 and on its second phase from July to December 2021.

For more information contact Systems Planning and Analysis online at https://spa.com, or the Naval Undersea Warfare Center at www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport.

More information about this specific program is online at https://sam.gov/opp/a2dc66a3fd45440da9675d1c1c4e61fc/view.

About the Author

John Keller | Editor-in-Chief

John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.

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