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Defence contracts

U.S. Air Force Partners with BlackSky to Enhance Force Readiness and Secure Supply Chains

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The U.S. Air Force has awarded BlackSky, a leading global monitoring services provider, a contract to utilize its advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning analytics platform, Spectra, to monitor and secure the supply chain amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. BlackSky will utilize its near-real-time global monitoring capabilities to track the spread of COVID-19, ensuring the protection of deployed personnel and secure critical nodes of the supply chain, including logistics depots, maintenance facilities, and airport facilities. This partnership will provide the U.S. Air Force with critical insights to inform national security and combat the spread of COVID-19.

Key Takeaways:

  • BlackSky has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract through AFWERX and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) to monitor the efficacy of COVID-19 mitigation efforts worldwide.
  • The contract calls for BlackSky to monitor overseas U.S. military bases and help maintain secure supply chains using its Spectra artificial intelligence and machine learning platform.
  • Near-real-time global monitoring capabilities will track the spread of COVID-19 to ensure the protection of deployed personnel, and secure critical nodes of the supply chain.
  • BlackSky's Spectra platform will leverage state-of-the-art image exploitation techniques to automatically analyze anomalies and monitor the application of social distancing.
  • The platform will provide alerts and notifications when changes in activity level or other anomalies are observed, giving the U.S. Air Force critical information to inform national security.
  • BlackSky's global monitoring service is powered by cutting-edge compute techniques including machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and natural language processing.

Statistics:

  • BlackSky processes millions of observations daily from space, air, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Industrial IoT, and Internet-enabled narrative sources.
  • The U.S. Air Force has deployed personnel in various parts of the world, including overseas bases, which will be protected by BlackSky's monitoring capabilities.
  • The partnership aims to secure critical nodes of the supply chain, including logistics depots, maintenance facilities, and airport facilities, which are essential for the defense industrial supply chain.
  • The BlackSky platform will provide near-real-time monitoring, enabling the U.S. Air Force to respond quickly to emerging threats and ensure the protection of personnel.

Sources:

  • Businesswire.com: BlackSky Awarded Contract by U.S. Air Force to Monitor COVID-19 Mitigation Efforts Worldwide
  • BlackSky.com: BlackSky LLC
  • AFWERX: AFWERX and Air Force Research Lab Partner with BlackSky to Enhance Force Readiness and Secure Supply Chains

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