QinetiQ US has secured a five-year, $49.4 million sole-source contract and a two-year task order from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to help ARL collect and manage sensor data and improve its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.
The company said Tuesday the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract covers the provision, modification, testing and integration of Enhanced Opposing Force Sighting Unit Kits into vehicles and platforms that ARL uses to collect critical data from battlefield environments.
Task Order for Sighting Unit Kits Enhancement Support
The task order valued at approximately $4.9 million calls for the defense contractor to improve Sighting Unit Kits to help develop and deploy AI Target Recognition, or AiTR, inference hardware for use in operational testing and evaluation of AI models.
QinetiQ US will also help establish AiTR hardware interface and software standards under the task order.
Advancing AI Capabilities
“The relationship between ARL and QinetiQ US dates back to 2021, collaboratively collecting IR video data via QinetiQ Thermal Sight Systems, fielded at U.S. Army Combat Training Centers to support ARL AI and ML model development,” said Jonathan Riksen, executive vice president and general manager of national global security solutions unit at QinetiQ US.
“We look forward to helping ARL manage vast amounts of data as the complexity of battlefield sensor systems increases and infusing AI/ML algorithms to ensure data integrity and openness,” added Riksen.
The vendor will expand to other collection sources where the kits are fielded, including the Army’s Fort Moore Maneuver Center of Excellence in Georgia and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany.
QinetiQ US said the contract win strengthens its position as a key partner of the Army in advancing AI and ML capabilities in support of Project Linchpin and future military AI applications.
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