‘Tis the season of team-ups, and it looks like the primes have new friends in the startup world on their Christmas list.
On Tuesday, defense prime Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and autonomy quasi-startup Applied Intuition announced they’re joining forces to introduce vehicle autonomy to SNC’s fleet of mobile c-UAS and air defense platforms.
Shoot ‘em down: According to the companies, the “near-term focus” of the partnership is making SNC’s Expeditionary Area Air Defense (EAAD) systems driverless. SNC’s air defense and EAAD air defense suite includes:
- BRAWLR: The Battery Revolving Adaptive Weapons Launcher-Reconfigurable, a customizable and platform-agnostic air defense system packed with sensors, comms, and effectors that can independently track and neutralize airborne targets. BRAWLR is actively deployed and has downed over 400 aerial threats since it was fielded in 2023.
- MAAWLR: The Mobile Anti-Air Weapons Launcher-Reconfigurable, a vehicle-mounted version of the BRAWLR for mobile c-UAS and localized missile defense.
- PITBOSS: An expeditionary souped-up command-and-control van integrated with SNC’s air defense platforms.
Look ma, no hands: Right now, the MAAWLR and PITBOSS need someone behind the wheel, and that’s where Applied Intuition comes in.
The California-based vehicle autonomy startup (can a company with a $15B valuation be classified as a startup?) offers both simulation and autonomy software through their Axion and Acuity platforms. The autonomous EAAD partnership with SNC will focus on integrating Applied’s Vehicle OS, Acuity Ground Autonomy, and Axion Mission Control platforms.
- Vehicle OS: Applied’s core on-board and off-board software “plumbing” that runs vehicle hardware, firmware, operating system, and cloud connectivity.
- Acuity Ground Autonomy: An onboard off-road autonomy software stack that offers perception, planning, control, and decision-making for unmanned or optionally manned ground vehicles to navigate in contested or degraded environments.
- Axion Mission Control: An off-board mission-level command, control, and software-development environment for autonomous vehicles that enables live operation or live-virtual-constructive (LVC) testing.
Fast friends: In the midst of the year-defining team-up trend, Applied Intuition says this one’s different.
“We build and sell software, so we must have partners (whether industry or government) to put it on their hardware—their vehicles,” Applied co-founder and CTO Peter Ludwig told Tectonic. “The industry is tired of empty partnership announcements and trying to decode what they really mean. This partnership combines an industry-leading all-domain mission integrator with a Silicon Valley vehicle intelligence software developer.”
“We need each other to be relevant, and the government needs these partnerships to maintain its competitive edge,” he added. “Both Applied Intuition and SNC see the same pain points in today’s arsenal and how to rapidly modernize for a decades-long strategic competition.”
Eyes on the prize: SNC and Applied joining forces checks two big boxes in Pentagon’s wish list: counter-drone tech and autonomy. “There are multiple opportunities that we will jointly qualify,” Ludwig said. “The current acquisition environment is ripe for companies that can move fast and leverage prior investments, of which SNC and Applied have quite a treasure chest.” No lies detected.
While the partnership is initially focused on SNC’s EAAD systems, the two are eyeing more collabs in the future.
“Besides moving fast, a common partnership theme is our contribution to the warfighter and their missions,” Ludwig said. “We don’t want to get ahead of our partnership due diligence and discovery, but definitely stay tuned.”