Pierce Aerospace and the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing announced that the US Air Force has awarded them an Agility Prime contract for “Decentralized Remote ID for Air Vehicles: Optimization of Low Latency, Scalable Data Networks Via Emulation, Modeling, and Simulation.” This award comes on the heels of Pierce Aerospace’s recent advances with Flight Portal ID, a Remote ID and Combat ID technology suite, including a recent integration with US Army Command and Control systems in downtown New Orleans airspace.
“We applaud the AFWERX and Air Force Research Laboratory teams’ speed in moving quickly, at the speed of startups, to deliver innovation across the US Government,” said Aaron Pierce, CEO Pierce Aerospace. “We are excited to continue our development of Remote ID technologies for air vehicles in the Agility Prime program. Remote ID is a critical airspace technology that plays a significant role in low-level airspace. We intend to work with the University of Notre Dame to build tools for effectively measuring and planning how to scale Remote ID well beyond early technology demonstrations. Our “Fighting Irish” colleagues at Notre Dame have proven track records, and we couldn’t be more pleased to work with them in this endeavor. Go Irish!” – Aaron Pierce, CEO Pierce Aerospace.
In addition to the US Air Force award, Pierce Aerospace was awarded a matching grant through Indiana’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program. Administered by Elevate Ventures, the SBIR/STTR program helps accelerate R&D and technology development and commercialization among Indiana small businesses.
“Since 2014, Indiana’s SBIR/STTR matching grant program has provided USD8.26M to 115 companies,” said Ting Gootee, chief investment officer at Elevate Ventures. “Providing matching funds to companies like Pierce Aerospace accelerates technology development and startup building activities strategic to our state.”
“Across the state, companies like Pierce Aerospace are working together with Indiana’s world-class research institutions to innovate and develop products that support our nation’s military,” said retired Major General Omer C. (Clif) Tooley Jr., Indiana Economic Development Corporation president of defense development. “We’re excited to see Pierce Aerospace leverage the state’s SBIR/STIR program to fuel defense innovation and look forward to supporting the company’s efforts to scale its Remote ID technology and position their business, and Indiana’s defense industry, for long-term growth.”
In a press statement Pierce Aerospace reported it has engagements across the DOD and “has successfully demonstrated early iterations of Flight Portal ID in military relevant, urban, and rural environments. Pierce Aerospace continues to develop and mature Flight Portal ID for both commercial and defense use cases. The company plans to use the emulation and simulation tools developed through the USAF Agility Prime contract to aid in developing Remote ID and air data networks to support the DOD and the growing air mobility and UAS industries.”
The Center for Research Computing (CRC) at the University of Notre Dame is an innovative and multidisciplinary research environment that supports collaboration to facilitate discoveries through advanced computation, software engineering, data analysis, and other digital research tools. The Center enhances the University’s innovative applications of cyberinfrastructure, provides support for interdisciplinary research and education, and conducts computational research. The CRC’s Embedded Systems Lab has extensive experience in data management, IoT networks, edge and fog computing, and unmanned aircraft systems.
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