New software to aid military insight into world conflicts

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is partnering with BAE Systems to develop software aiding military planners in understanding and addressing dynamics driving world conflicts.

Through a $4.2 million Phase 1 contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Causal Exploration of Complex Operational Environments program would develop technology to model different political, territorial and economic tensions leading to conflicts, thereby helping planners to avoid unexpected outcomes.

BAE Systems is charged with developing software called Causal Modeling for Knowledge Transfer, Exploration and Temporal Simulation (CONTEXTS).

“Military planners often conduct manual research and use limited modeling tools to generate models and evaluate conflict situations, which are extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive,” Chris Eisenbies, product line director of the Autonomy, Controls, and Estimation group at BAE Systems, said. “To break down these barriers, CONTEXTS will use reasoning algorithms and simulations with the goal to give planners a quicker and deeper understanding of conflicts to help avoid unexpected and counterintuitive outcomes.”

Officials said CONTEXTS builds on BAE Systems’ autonomy technology portfolio and is being created by the company’s research and development team, which investigates, creates and deploys cutting-edge technology capabilities.

The program work will be performed at the company’s facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Arlington, Virginia, officials said.