BAE to Advance Autonomous Space-Based Surveillance Technology for DARPA

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems’ FAST Labs™ research, development, and production organization a $16 million Phase 2 contract for the Oversight program. The Oversight program is focused on creating an autonomous system that keeps track, or maintains constant “custody,” of a large number of terrestrial assets via new satellite constellations.

The award follows the successful completion of the Phase 1 program. During Phase 1, BAE Systems’ software was integrated into a modeling and simulation environment to demonstrate a custody mission on representative satellite and sensor models. In Phase 2, BAE Systems will mature its solution algorithms and demonstrate operation with increasingly larger constellations, more complex scenarios, and higher fidelity modeling and simulation environments. The technology will be physically deployed to both tactical-edge satellites and ground stations.

“Future mission requirements are pushing capabilities to the tactical edge,” said Dr. Ben Cooper, senior principal scientist at BAE Systems’ FAST Labs research organization. “In space, this means operating primarily on-board satellites. Through this program, we will help make the space domain more tactically relevant for warfighters.”

The deployment of the software and algorithms developed on the Oversight program on board proliferated networked satellite constellations enables persistent surveillance at tactical timescales. Space-based coordination and data processing delivers lower latency and higher revisit rates enabling near real-time tracking. The increased scale, availability, and timeliness of information derived from space enhances warfighter situational awareness and speeds up decision making.

Work on this program will take place at BAE Systems’ facilities in Burlington, Mass. and Merrimack, N.H. It will also include collaboration with subcontractor AIMdyn, Inc.