RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION OF CDAO SMART SENSOR AUTONOMOUS ISR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM PLATFORM.

The Department of the Army awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) a $94.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to conduct research, development, testing, and evaluation of autonomy and artificial intelligence capabilities for the Smart Sensor Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) prototype, with completion targeted for March 31, 2026. The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) developed this platform-agnostic system to enable autonomous surveillance and reconnaissance operations in challenging environments with interoperability across diverse platforms. This contract represents a significant investment in advanced autonomous ISR capabilities, with GA-ASI selected from nearly 1,000 bidders based on its extensive experience deploying autonomy systems for military aircraft missions.