AI contract between USAF and Virtualitics targets logistics
NewsOctober 22, 2024
PASADENA, Calif. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered software maker Virtualitics announced that it won a five-year United States Air Force (USAF) SBIR III [small business] contract worth more than $46 million, which the company says builds upon a three-year effort between Virtualitics and the USAF to explore and evolve how AI-guided applications can help flightline personnel achieve mission readiness goals and improve operational effectiveness.
Under the terms of the recent contract, the USAF will deploy Virtualitics’ Integrated Readiness Optimization (IRO) applications, aimed at enabling maintenance and sustainment units within the Air Force to improve their decision intelligence. The company states that IRO enhances unit readiness posture and optimizes maintenance scheduling and operational planning by providing a holistic AI-guided approach to maintenance through the integration of Conditions Based Maintenance-Plus (CBM+) risk levels derived from inventory, manpower, and equipment constraints.
The platform preprocesses and fuses data, builds AI models, creates knowledge graphs, and helps teams discover insights using the most recent data analytics and immersive 3D visualizations to support tactical and operational-level decision-making.
The new contract aligns with the USAF’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) initiative to increase operational agility in response to an evolving and contested logistics environment, according to the company's statement.
