The US company Shield AI was selected as a mission autonomy provider under the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program of the US Air Force program. The decision was made following a competitive selection process to support the Technology Maturity and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase.
As part of the program, Shield AI’s autonomy software Hivemind has already been successfully implemented in Anduril’s Fury (YFQ-44A) aircraft. System-wide tests are currently underway in preparation for flight demonstrations, which are expected in the coming months.
“We are proud to support the US Air Force in the CCA program as a mission autonomy provider,” said Shield AI CEO Gary Steele. “The Air Force is rapidly advancing how autonomy can change the future of air combat. We’ve been preparing for this for years with real-world testing, flight trials and operational integration. Together with the Air Force and our industry partners, we want to shape the next generation of air warfare.”
Hivemind is Shield AI’s central AI software platform and assumes the role of a human pilot or operator. It enables unmanned systems to perceive their environment, make decisions and act independently. Unlike traditional autopilots, which follow predetermined routes, Hivemind can dynamically adapt flight routes, avoid restricted areas, avoid or fight obstacles, react to unexpected situations and successfully complete missions without human intervention.
Sprungreif: Die Fallschirmspringer-Ausbildung beim Jagdkommando
“Delivering true mission autonomy in combat conditions is technologically complex,” emphasized Christian Gutierrez, Vice President Hivemind Solutions at Shield AI. “We have invested more than a decade in the development of Hivemind and the operational foundation to meet this challenge. Our team has proven experience integrating mission-critical autonomy into complex weapon systems and operates with a development model designed for speed.”
The Hivemind software conforms to the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA), is platform-independent and has already been used in several government and industrial test programs. These include tests with the MQ-20 Avenger from General Atomicsthe Talon IQ autonomy system from Northrop Grumman, the US Navy’s BQM-177 target display aircraft and the Airbus UH-72A Lakota helicopter.
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