64 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2024
Skunk Works Demonstrates AI For
Air-To-Air Tactical Intercepts E
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works partnered with
the University of Iowa's Operator Performance
Laboratory (OPL) to demonstrate the use of
artificial intelligence (AI) in air-to-air intercept
scenarios. e successful flights are a significant
milestone for Skunk Works' Tactical AI team,
in which AI directly flew and conducted tacti-
cal exercises with a full-scale, live aircra – one
of OPL's L-29 Delfin jets.
NASA's Roman Mission Gets Cosmic
'Sneak Peek' From Argonne
Supercomputer E
Researchers are diving into a synthetic universe
to help us better understand the real one. Using
the eta supercomputer at the U.S. Depart-
ment of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National
Laboratory in Illinois, scientists have created
nearly four million simulated images depicting
the cosmos.
RTX Awarded $677M US Navy Contract
for SPY-6 Family of Radars E
Raytheon, an RTX business, was awarded a
$677 million contract to continue to produce
AN/SPY-6(V) radars for the U.S. Navy. Under
this contract, the U.S. Navy will receive seven
additional radars, increasing the total amount
of radars under contract for procurement to 38.
Northrop Grumman Extends
Operations, Sustainment and
Support for BACN to 2027 E
e U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grum-
man Corporation a task order for continued
Battlefield Airborne Communications Node
(BACN) operations, sustainment, and support
through January 2027. BACN enables com-
munication and data interoperability between
disparate systems, platforms, and sensors.
Redwire Awarded DARPA Prime Contract
for SabreSat Spacecraft Very Low-Earth
Orbit Demonstration E
Redwire Corporation, will be the prime mis-
sion integrator for the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) devel-
opment of a revolutionary air-breathing sat-
ellite that will demonstrate the use of novel
electric propulsion systems in very low-Earth
orbit (VLEO). e program leverages Red-
wire's worldwide leadership in developing and
providing VLEO capabilities.
Lockheed Martin Celebrates Opening Of
122,000-Square Foot, $18M Engineering
Facility In North Alabama E
Lockheed Martin, U.S. Department of
Defense, state and local officials celebrated
the opening of the company's new $18 million
engineering facility, labs, and demonstration
center in Huntsville.
Bell Awarded Funding for Phase 1B of
DARPA Speed and Runway Independent
Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane Program E
e SPRINT program intends to design,
build, and fly an X-Plane, an experimental
aircra to demonstrate enabling technologies
and integrated concepts necessary for a trans-
formational combination of aircra speed and
runway independence for the next generation
of air mobility platforms.
