SOSA aligned AI/ML electronic warfare systems win new USAF contract
NewsSeptember 01, 2026
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. Pacific Defense and its affiliate Perceptronics Solutions won a new SBIR Phase III contract from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) for continued advancement of Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, aligned electronic warfare (EW) mission systems.
According to the press release announcing the win, the contract builds upon earlier SOSA alligned artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) EW demonstration programs and is intended to drive advanced emitter-tracking algorithms, integrate electronic attack techniques, and validate operational performance through airborne demonstration on representative Air Force platforms, all within a fully Open Mission Systems (OMS)-compliant SOSA aligned architecture.
The work under the contract, say Pacific Defense officials, integrates the AI/ML capability with Pacific Defense’s SOSA aligned EW product line enables rapid, adaptive responses to emerging threats and helps to move decision timelines from human speed to machine speed.
“The Air Force is advancing open architecture systems to detect and identify electromagnetic emissions from the air, enabling real-time understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) in contested environments.” said Frank Pietryka, VP of EW, SIGINT and Autonomy at Pacific Defense. “Modern AI/ML algorithms overcome the limitations of legacy systems to counter modern threats”.
Work under the 12-month contract will be performed at Pacific Defense and Perceptronics facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire; El Segundo, California; and Fairfax, Virginia.
