OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – The U.S. Air Force is awarding a lucrative contract to an Oklahoma City-based developer of detect-and-avoid and airspace management software for uncrewed aircraft systems (drones).
The Air Force selected Vigilant Aerospace Systems, Inc. to be a vendor on the $46 billion Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract.
The contract runs through 2031 and is designed to accelerate innovative weapons systems development and delivery.
“As the US Air Force embraces autonomous capabilities, we’re honored to play a role in helping them achieve this significant step forward,” said Zach Peterson, Vigilant Aerospace’s Director of Business Development. “FlightHorizon fills an important technical gap for managing large-scale autonomous flight operations across a range of locations and scenarios, making it an ideal platform for the US Air Force’s needs.”
Vigilant is one of 122 companies that was awarded a position in the fourth selection round of the $46 billion contract, according to Vigilant officials.
The contract supports rapid development of novel weapons capabilities. Research and development, test and evaluation, production and fielding, prototyping, weapon design, system modeling and modernization are required.
The contract is focused on the following aspects of digital acquisition and sustainment practices:
- Digital engineering
- Agile processes
- Open systems architecture
Vigilant’s FlightHorizon is a dual-use technology based on two NASA patents. It uses a combination of sensors and data sources to create a 2D or 3D view of all aircraft in the selected airspace to serve as an airspace safety picture for pilots, airspace managers and command centers. Those views are required to meet FAA regulatory requirements for advanced UAS flights.
The multiple sensors combined with industry technical standards and algorithms allows real-time situational awareness which tracks nearby aircraft and avoids potential collisions through visual and auditory alerts.
