On a battlefield crowded with invisible signals, the US Air Force is turning to artificial intelligence to help its aircraft detect and track electromagnetic emitters at machine speed.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has awarded Perceptronics Solutions and Pacific Defense a Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract to advance AI and machine learning for airborne electronic warfare systems.
Under the award, the companies will mature AI-powered emitter-tracking algorithms, integrate electronic attack techniques, and test how the technology performs in contested and congested electromagnetic environments.
The goal is to give operators a clearer picture of the spectrum in less time.
AI can process large volumes of radio-frequency data, identify relevant emissions, and track their sources as conditions change, potentially shortening the time between detection and response.
That speed can prove critical when adversaries use the spectrum to locate, target, disrupt, or deceive aircraft.
“By combining modern AI techniques with open-architecture EW systems, we’re helping operators maintain decision superiority in environments where milliseconds matter,” said Perceptronics General Manager Elan Freedy.
The technology will be integrated into Pacific Defense’s Sensor Open Systems Architecture-aligned EW systems and evaluated through airborne demonstrations aboard representative US Air Force platforms during the 12-month contract.
