VTG on Wednesday said it has acquired ASSETT, Inc., a small design and engineering company that adds artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML)-enabled capabilities for undersea warfare and unmanned systems.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ASSETT, which is based in Manassas, Va., has about 50 employees.
VTG said the acquisition adds to its naval systems portfolio, bringing work in submarine sonar acoustics and signal processing, a prototype integrated control system for combat submersibles, a battery management system for lithium-ion powered platforms, and expertise and technologies applicable to command and control of unmanned systems in the undersea, surface and air domains.
VTG also told Defense Daily that ASSETT adds several customers, including Program Executive Office Submarine/Team Submarine, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport Division, the Office of Naval Research, and the Special Operations Command.
“I’m excited to welcome ASSETT’s innovative engineers, software developers, and scientists to VTG,” John Hassoun, president and CEO of VTG, said in a statement. “Submarines, unmanned platforms, and AI/ML-enabled C5ISR systems will play an increasingly important role in distributed maritime operations. ASSETT is developing the solutions and emerging technologies that will be foundational to this dispersed and distributed fleet architecture.”
ASSETT’s core capabilities include systems and cybersecurity engineering, software development and data science, model-based systems engineering, DevSecOps, AI/ML and human-machine teaming.
Jim Shannon, president of ASSETT and a retired rear admiral who served as deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for international programs and as deputy commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command, will continue to lead the business, which is being integrated into VTG as a technology development center of excellence.