The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking industry solutions for an 18-month program to develop the capability for drones to complete predefined missions when connections to an operator are lost.
Contracts for the Rapid Experimental Missionized Autonomy (REMA) program are expected to be awarded in November, and will cover work on a drone-autonomy adapter interface and mission-specific autonomy software that will run on the adapter.
“REMA is focused on creating autonomous solutions to maximize effectiveness of stock commercial and small military drones on the battlefield,” Lael Russ, program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, said in a statement. “Through creating an autonomy adapter that works with all commercial drones, regardless of manufacturer, and by developing mission-specific autonomy software that is constantly refreshed and easy to upload prior to a mission, we aim to give drone operators the advantage in fast-paced combat operations. Speed in tech development and on the battlefield is key, and REMA aims to deliver.”
DARPA said REMA aims to address the increasing threat of adversaries using “electromagnetic countermeasures to disrupt communication links between operator and drone, forcing the vehicle to abort mission, return to its starting point, or crash.”
Up to $25 million in contracts will be awarded for REMA to work on either the autonomy adapter or the software, which will culminate in a final test and delivery planned for late February 2024.
“The Government’s acquisition strategy for REMA is structured to minimize the administrative burden of entry, reduce program risk, foster competition, and have performing teams begin work faster,” DARPA wrote in the solicitation notice, posted on Sept. 11.
DARPA said the autonomy adapter for REMA “will be designed to agnostically detect the drone type and adjust operational parameters to enable the drone to receive mission-specific autonomy software.”
The software will be developed over several cycles, starting in three-month intervals and then one-month intervals to “repeatedly provide new and improved autonomy capabilities,” according to DARPA.
Responses to the REMA solicitation notice are due to DARPA by the end of October.
The Pentagon has recently detailed its new Replicator initiative to produce thousands of “all-domain attritable autonomous systems, or ADA2 capabilities, over the next 18 to 24 months to counter China (Defense Daily, Aug. 28).