BAE Systems to aid Army’s A-Team initiative

The Army has awarded BAE Systems multiple contracts to develop key technologies for the service branch’s Advanced Teaming Demonstration Program (A-Team).

The pacts totaling $9 million address three of the program’s four focus areas and are designed to advance manned and unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities expected to be critical components in the Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program.

“Our mature autonomy technology, which is the basis of our offering for the A-Team program, will greatly increase the warfighter’s ability to have a complete view of the battlespace and streamline decision making,” said Chris Eisenbies, product line director of the Autonomy, Control, and Estimation group at BAE Systems’ FAST Labs. “Future conflicts will include manned and unmanned teaming and increased automation in highly contested environments, helping to enable mission success.”

The A-Team program was created to develop an automated system to address pilots’ cognitive burden while enabling them to command swarms of unmanned aircraft. BAE Systems would deliver an automated system providing situational awareness, information processing, resource management, and decision making beyond human capabilities.

The work scope involves BAE Systems leveraging the Future Open Rotorcraft Cockpit Environment Lab to conduct simulation tests and demonstrations with products from different contractors in consideration of transition to the FVL program.

The work is slated to be executed at BAE Systems sites in Burlington, Mass., and San Diego, Calif.