The Pentagon’s Silicon Valley-based Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is looking for domestic and foreign company proposals for an artificial intelligence (AI) system to understand and predict space threats.
“Today’s space and missile threat information is spread across a variety of sources,” DIU said in a solicitation for a Space Threat Intelligence Synthesis Engine. “Existing tools struggle to distinguish closely spaced objects, track emerging threats, and keep threat models current. A more effective approach is needed to give operators and automated systems a clear picture. The resulting insights must be available quickly enough to inform time-sensitive operational decisions.”
The Pentagon “is looking for AI-based software tools to turn fragmented sensor data into a continuously updated understanding of space and missile threats fast enough to drive operational decisions,” according to the solicitation.
“The desired solution will ingest and fuse massive streams of multi-source data, including live video, satellite imagery, radar and sensor feeds, geospatial data, and classified intelligence reports. By automating advanced cross-data correlation, the architecture aims to uncover hidden patterns, complex operational relationships, and predictive threat behaviors far beyond the capabilities of human analysis alone. Designed around open standards, the solution will continuously update weapons-system performance models in real time. It will deliver dual outputs: intuitive, human-readable visualizations for frontline operators and low-latency, machine-to-machine APIs [application programming interfaces] to drive automated command-and-control (C2) workflows.”
DIU’s AI effort may dovetail with Golden Dome, which Congress funded at $22.5 billion in the last reconciliation bill.
Last month, Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, the director of Golden Dome, said that radars, space-based interceptors, air interceptors and system sites are on contract and that the program has obligated 90 percent of the $22.5 billion so far.
