Technology development

Navy, Expedition Technology Collaborate on Using Machine Learning to Improve Spectral Awareness Capabilities

The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific has awarded defense and intelligence communities solutions provider Expedition Technology a multiyear contract to apply deep learning technologies to improve the U.S. Navy’s wideband spectrum awareness capabilities.

CEO and President Marc Harlacher said machine learning offers a lot of opportunities to improve dynamic spectrum awareness, equipping warfighters with the tools needed to ensure national security.

The new contract aims to produce machine learning algorithms for detecting and identifying radio frequency signals, Expedition Technology said.

The two organizations previously worked on the RF Machine Learning Systems program, developing a solution to detect and classify signals through a fully learned wideband radio frequency detector.

Spectrum awareness is expected to be a valuable solution in future warfighting. In its Information Dominance Roadmap 2012–2028, the service branch named spectrum awareness as a vital technology in establishing U.S. leadership in higher-threat, information-intensive combat environments. The Navy aims to use the technology to enable dynamic monitoring and control of electromagnetic spectrum emissions.