SAN DIEGO - Northrop Grumman and Boeing demonstrated machine-to-machine interoperability between the U.S. Navy's MQ-4C Triton uncrewed maritime surveillance aircraft and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in a jointly funded laboratory technology demonstration.
The demonstration showed the two aircraft systems sharing intelligence and coordinating mission planning and execution through standardized interfaces based on open mission systems and the Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI).
During the simulated demonstration, a P-8A operator issued machine-readable, machine-actionable mission tasking to a simulated MQ-4C Triton using UCI-formatted messages. The P-8A cued Triton to transit to a specific area, after which the Triton system autonomously planned and executed the transit, employed its sensors, processed findings onboard, and reported the results back to the P-8A, Boeing says.
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Northrop Grumman says Triton's system used artificial intelligence algorithms to collect, process and share intelligence data in response to the request from the P-8A system.
SATCOM relays
The demonstration also incorporated satellite relay into the data paths to represent operational communications. The companies say mission-management and autonomy functions communicated through open mission systems and UCI rather than custom point-to-point interfaces.
UCI is a machine-to-machine collaboration standard based on open mission systems and the Autonomy - Government Reference Architecture. The UCI standard establishes messages for machine-to-machine, mission-level command and control for airborne systems, while OMS provides an open architecture for interfaces and data exchange among software services, hardware subsystems and other system components.
Northrop Grumman and Boeing say platforms using the standardized interface could collaborate with other U.S. or allied systems that support the same interface. The companies say the approach can distribute mission tasks, reduce operator workload and accelerate commander decision-making while simplifying integration across platforms.
The demonstration is an example of crewed-uncrewed teaming in which the Triton provides persistent maritime surveillance while the P-8A can request information or other mission actions from the uncrewed aircraft. Boeing and Northrop Grumman say the approach is intended to support evolutionary capability upgrades for current and future P-8A operators.
The demonstration was conducted in a laboratory rather than during an operational flight test. Northrop Grumman and Boeing did not disclose additional technical details about the AI algorithms, autonomy software, sensor functions, or specific mission data exchanged during the demonstration.
