Protect AI, Inc., a protection expertise firm constructing the world’s greatest AI pilot, and Kratos Protection & Safety Options, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a Expertise Firm within the Protection, Nationwide Safety and International Markets and an industry-leading supplier of high-performance, jet-powered unmanned aerial methods (UAS), right this moment introduced the profitable completion of the primary section of Protect’s AI-piloted flight-testing on-board Kratos platforms as the 2 firms transfer towards productizing Protect AI’s pilot for the XQ-58 Valkyrie.
Having efficiently flown AI pilots on 5 plane — three courses of quadcopters, the MQ-35A V-BAT, and the F-16 in absolutely autonomous air fight coaching — Protect AI’s Hivemind AI pilot has now efficiently flown on and managed the Kratos MQM-178 Firejet. These profitable flights are a significant milestone within the complete integration challenge as Protect AI and Kratos look to finally productize one other configuration of the Valkyrie, on this case with Protect AI’s Hivemind AI pilot.
“Our substantial investments in autonomy and AI design instruments, infrastructure, and pipelines are what allow Protect AI to quickly combine Hivemind onto totally different courses of plane and most significantly, fly them safely. We’re getting sooner and sooner. It was over three years from signing the contract to flying the F-16; now, it’s lower than 180 days for the Kratos Firejet. The imaginative and prescient of moveable autonomy software program for navy {hardware} has been realized, flown, and deployed by Protect AI,” mentioned Ryan Tseng, Protect AI’s CEO and Co-Founder.
“AI pilots will finally fly all plane and may have a bigger world impression than self-driving automobiles. The MQM-178 Firejet marks the sixth sort of plane that our AI pilot Hivemind has flown. It’s the second jet-powered plane after our AI piloted F-16 dogfights. The AI-piloted XQ-58 Valkyrie flights later this yr would be the seventh plane after which the Kratos BQM-177 would be the eighth. Kratos and Protect AI’s joint concentrate on the fast improvement of AI-piloted plane has been a terrific collaboration that’s serving to redefine navy drive buildings,” mentioned Brandon Tseng, Protect AI’s President and Co-Founder and a former Navy SEAL.
The MQM-178 Firejet fills quite a lot of end-to-end weapons-release coaching roles as a jet goal plane system, supporting surface-to-air and air-to-air engagements. Moreover, the Tactical Firejet presents an offensive/defensive jet UAS system within the sub $500K value vary per plane with substantial mission methods and efficiency capabilities. In both mission configuration (goal/tactical), the Firejet delivers a high-speed, high-maneuverability, low-signature answer for replicating threats or enabling no-risk-to-American-life operational effectiveness with a stage of contested setting functionality.
“The collaboration between Kratos and Protect AI over these previous months has been nothing in need of distinctive and represents the fast improvement and testing attainable when motivated business expertise firms work along with a typical goal—being first to market with related methods to assist U.S. Nationwide Safety. Our joint efforts have introduced collectively the very best of each worlds – Kratos’ confirmed jet-powered uncrewed plane and Protect AI’s experience in AI and software program improvement. We’re thrilled in regards to the progress we’ve made and much more excited to share additional breakthroughs within the close to future,” mentioned Steve Fendley, President of Kratos’ Unmanned Programs Division.
About Protect AI
Based in 2015, Protect AI is a venture-backed protection expertise firm whose mission is to guard service members and civilians with clever methods. In pursuit of this mission, Protect AI is constructing the world’s greatest AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown jets (F-16; MQM-178 Firejet), a vertical takeoff and touchdown drone (MQ-35 V-BAT), and three quadcopters (Nova, Nova 2, iPRD). The corporate has places of work in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC and overseas. Protect AI’s merchandise and persons are at present within the subject actively supporting operations with the U.S. Division of Protection and U.S. allies.
For extra info, go to www.protect.ai
About Kratos Protection & Safety Options, Inc.
Kratos Protection & Safety Options, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a expertise, merchandise, system and software program firm addressing the protection, nationwide safety, and business markets. Kratos makes true internally funded analysis, improvement, capital and different investments, to quickly develop, produce and subject options that tackle our clients’ mission important wants and necessities. At Kratos, affordability is a expertise, and we search to make the most of confirmed, modern approaches and expertise, not unproven bleeding edge approaches or expertise, with Kratos’ strategy designed to cut back value, schedule and danger, enabling us to be first to market with value efficient options. We imagine that Kratos is called an revolutionary disruptive change agent within the {industry}, an organization that’s an professional in designing merchandise and methods up entrance for profitable fast, massive amount, low-cost future manufacturing which is a value-add aggressive differentiator for our massive conventional prime system integrator companions and in addition to our authorities and business clients.
Kratos intends to pursue program and contract alternatives because the prime or lead contractor after we imagine that our likelihood of win (PWin) is excessive and any funding required by Kratos is inside our capital useful resource consolation stage. We intend to companion and staff with a big, conventional system integrator when our evaluation of PWin is larger or required funding is past Kratos consolation stage. Kratos major enterprise areas embody virtualized floor methods for satellites and area autos together with software program for command & management (C2) and telemetry, monitoring and management (TT&C), jet powered unmanned aerial drone methods, hypersonic autos and rocket methods, propulsion methods for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic methods, area craft and launch methods, C5ISR and microwave digital merchandise for missile, radar, missile protection, area, satellite tv for pc, counter UAS, directed vitality, communication and different methods, and digital & augmented actuality coaching methods for the warfighter.
For extra info, go to www.KratosDefense.com
