The Air Force Research Laboratory’s innovation unit has tested an unmanned aerial system designed for long distances and fitted with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technologies.

The Air Force said Sunday the AFRL’s Center for Rapid Innovation began conducting initial flight tests for the Ultra Long Endurance Aircraft Platform at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah earlier this year. A continuous demonstration took place last week ahead of subsequent tests to assess the platform’s flight endurance.

Ultra LEAP features anti-jam GPS technology, a satellite-based command-and-control platform, an ISR data relay link and other elements designed to support autonomous takeoff and landing.

“Ultra LEAP mission is a significant milestone in solving the tyranny of distance problem for ISR systems,” said Alok Das, senior scientist at AFRL and director of CRI. He noted that the team conducted the two-and-a-half-day test after 10 months of development activities. 

AFRL expects the UAS to be ready for operational fielding by 2020. The lab also plans to conduct CRI efforts focused on UAS technologies designed for short takeoff and landing distances and nontraditional deployment locations.

A NASA-led team has identified a sample collection site on Asteroid Bennu for a certain investigative mission, following a year of assessments.

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer or OSIRIS-Rex team selected the “Nightingale” site due to the abundance of fine-grained material and low amount of hazards, NASA said Friday.

Nightingale was among four candidate sites that the team selected based on safety. The other sites were Osprey, Kingfisher and Sandpiper.

“After thoroughly evaluating all four candidate sites, we made our final decision based on which site has the greatest amount of fine-grained material and how easily the spacecraft can access that material while keeping the spacecraft safe,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

The university leads the mission’s scientific activities, while NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center performs systems engineering, mission assurance and administrative efforts. Lockheed Martin provided the mission’s spacecraft and KinetX Aerospace supports navigation.

Mark Andress, chief information officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and Nand Mulchandani, chief technology officer of the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said NGA would benefit from the use of AI.

Andress said AI could help the agency collect and analyze data for safety and navigation efforts that require processing through networks of varying classifications, DoD said Friday.

He added that the technology would help analysts interpret data and leaders make decisions through the creation of smart algorithms.

The CIO also AI-related highlighted challenges faced by DoD: large data volumes, separated defense mapping networks and an agency-wide cultural shift upon AI implementation.

“An algorithm used for AI decision making that is 74 percent efficient is not one that will be put into production to certify geolocation because that’s not good enough,” Andress said.

He concluded that AI would support NGA in the future, but implementation will require time.

Jack Shanahan, director at the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, said the U.S. military needs security professionals who can validate the benefits and limitations of artificial intelligence technology.

Shanahan discussed how AI can potentially help optimize decision-making capacities during a forum with the U.S. Naval War College students and instructors, the U.S. Navy said Friday.

“Like electricity, AI is a transformative, general-purpose enabling technology capable of being used for good or for evil – but not a thing unto itself,” said Shanahan.

Shanahan added the Chinese military has implemented AI into various platforms.

“They are sprinting to incorporate AI technology in all aspects of their military, and the Chinese commercial industry is more than willing to help.”

Shanahan also noted that academic institutions must seek various approaches in the application of AI technologies.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions has formed a partnership with Bode Technology to assist police investigations by providing person-of-interest information from more than 600 million public records and the largest law enforcement contributory database for the results of forensic genealogy leads, LexisNexis announced on Monday. 

Through the partnership, the LexisNexis’ Public Safety Special Investigations Unit (SIU) will team with Bode’s Forensic Genealogy Service (FGS) to help agencies with surname research and investigative analysis based on data provided from Bode FGS. 

“We have created a unique relationship that matches DNA leads with hard-to-find information,” said Haywood Talcove, CEO, Government, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and LexisNexis Special Services Inc. “This is the latest and greatest way to use data for good to quickly create a link chart showing connections based on shared addresses or crime reports to help law enforcement agencies bring justice to victims of violent crime.”

The combination of Bode FGS and Accurint Virtual Crime Center provides law enforcement with the tools needed to conduct up-front analysis, giving agencies a head start as they navigate the new reality of forensic genealogy investigations. 

Forensic genealogy is utilized by law enforcement agencies to develop investigative leads in cold case homicides and rapes, as well as to identify unknown remains. The pool of candidate cases continues to expand due to the continued nationwide focus on backlogs of unanalyzed sexual assault kits and the need for timeline DNA testing to support investigations. 

”Bode FGS has the potential to make a substantial impact on public safety.  Bode Technology alone has processed hundreds of thousands of violent crimes for DNA,” said Mike Cariola CEO, Bode Technology. “This partnership enhances our ability to quickly provide investigative information to our clients on serial or violent offenders.”

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