Consilium Technology, which was tapped to support Lockheed Martin Australia’s AIR 6500 bid in 2019, was initially tasked with designing and developing a proof-of-concept integration of Defence Science Technology Group’s (DSTG) Semantically Managed Autonomous and Resilient Tactical Networking (SMARTNet) system into LMA’s advanced C2 surveillance demonstrator technology.

The firms have since successfully demonstrated joint all domain air battle management networking capabilities to the RAAF.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for Consilium Technology to contribute to a major defence program together with industry partners and the Royal Australian Air Force to shape Australia’s future Joint Air Battle Management capabilities,” Consilium Technology’s chief information officer, Nick Cooper, said

“Proudly, our investments and partnerships with Lockheed Martin Australia on AIR 6500-1 has meant our company has grown in size and capability.

“The collaboration also provides Consilium Technology with greater access to global markets to drive export opportunities.”

Last year, Consilium Technology’s engineering team examined modelling, simulation and AI technologies, which could be rapidly combined into an open architecture framework to support next-generation concepts and application development for AIR 6500-1.

VIEW ALL

This involves exploring the use of machine learning through investigating reinforced learning approaches to support the RAAF’s future all-domain data transfer capabilities in contested warfighting environments.

“AIR 6500-1 has been a great program to partner on with Lockheed Martin Australia,” Cooper added.

“We have welcomed the chance to grow as a company, explore world-leading technologies that will safeguard Australia for decades to come as well as interact with other high-tech small to medium enterprises.”

Consilium Technology’s chief executive, Seth Thuraisingham, noted the importance of the AIR 6500 program in bolstering the ADF’s defence capabilities.  

“Lockheed Martin Australia has been an outstanding and engaging partner to work with, which will only lead to more innovative outcomes. We are excited to be working with Lockheed Martin Australia to achieve next-generation outcomes for Australia’s Future Joint Air Battle Management System,” Thuraisingham said.

Lockheed Martin Australia’s head of engineering and technology, David Butler, welcomed Consilium Technology’s contribution to the offering.

“Consilium Technology are terrific partners to work with. They provide cutting-edge AI and machine learning technologies that are highly advanced and are game changers for the future of joint air battle management operations,” Butler said.

Lockheed Martin Australia is one of two primes down-selected for the Competitive Evaluation Process Stage 2 (CEPS2) for AIR 6500 Phase 1, competing against Northrop Grumman Australia.

In December, LMA signed a teaming agreement with Leidos Australia, set to involve the joint development of an open architecture framework, supporting application development for the project.

Specifically, the companies will investigate transformative software factory technologies, enhanced by a number of features, including secure coding, advanced cyber security infrastructure, automated monitoring, continuous deployment, network optimisation and testing.

[Related: Lockheed Martin Australia, Leidos Australia pair up for AIR 6500]